The Rule of the Twelve
by SilverSnowflake9798
Summary: The council of twelve governed the known world. When mutinys begin to stir, traitors hide undetected, war against the Dark Continent threatens their peace, and a king is asked to marry for the people, how will the council maintain control? Without revealing their true identities? A different kind of world. Some Sinei, but not a romance story.
1. Prologue

Marga knew she shouldn't have snuck away so close to her bedtime. But she just had to see.

The sun was setting as Marga ran through the street, casting a long shadow behind her as she went. The sand underneath her covered her bare feet as she twisted through the familiar streets. Her older sister would not be happy when she found out she left without wearing shoes, but she was in such a rush. If she didn't hurry to the streets, the main event would be gone before she got there. Even if she got in trouble, even if her feet got blisters, even if the other kids would call her foolish, she wanted to get there.

She wanted to see the masks.

When she finally got to the main street, a crowd was their waiting for her. Mostly curious adults and teenagers, most children her age already having been sent to bed. They all stood at the edge of the street, though none dared to take a step on it. Who knew what would happen if they got in the way? Marga was small enough that she was able to push her way through the crowd's legs, sneaking her way to the front. She stared up with wide-eyed wonder.

The procession continued on like men among beasts.

Marga couldn't count how many there were. Hundreds? No, less than that. Soldiers surrounded the group, each carrying staffs and their shields to keep the crowd at bay. There was no point however. No one broke the line. Inside the circle were various different people, servants or workers of one palace or another. She guessed of her country, the country of Kina, but there was no way to tell. The main event however were the three that walked in the middle. One woman with long blue hair, a man with eyes the colour of smoke and a third that the other followed obediently.

The leader.

"It's one of the twelve kings," a man on Marga's right whispered. "I'll bet it's the king of Sasan."

"No way," said a women from behind. "That women has got to be the Queen of Kina. The one in the middle is probably one of her servants."

"I thought the leader of Kina was a King."

"I wish I knew," The girl replied with a sigh. "If only we could see."

"Both of you, hold your tongue," the man beside them hissed. "Do you want them to hear you?" Immediately both their mouths clamped shut, glancing at the guards to see if they had heard. But if they had, they didn't show it. Their helmets were much less elaborate than those they protected, just regular old soldier hats. Marga knew the knights had no reason to keep their identity secret, and only wore the helmets to remind the people of just who they were guarding. Unlike the knights, soldiers and servants who surrounded the three in the middle, their masks were just for show. Not even all of them wore masks, instead only hiding behind a thin veil or nothing at all. They didn't need to hide. Why would they?

Their identities were not unknown.

Others whispered desires of wanting to know what hid under the masks of the three in the centre. But they all knew it was a lost dream.

Even Marga knew that.

She just wanted to see the pretty masks.

Only three were wearing the magic masks she had heard of for as long as she could remember. One with short white hair had a mask that went from below his left eye to the right bottom of his chin. The mask was white, plain compared to the others. It had silver strips that started at its eyes and slanted towards the bottom. There was a green paint around the edge, outlining the corner of his mouth that was covered. There was not a scratch on the carved porcelain. Marga imaged that the mask would be as smooth and cold as paint as it slid across the canvas.

The other, a women with bright blue hair, had a mask that only covered her eyes and nose. It was the colours of the sea, and depending on the time of day, could be sea green, midnight black or bright blue. There were pearls at the corners of each eye, and faded pink sea shells with pointed ends that started at the mask than ended just above her ears. Her mask was covered in sparkles that reminded Marga of the sea when the sun was high in the sky. The crowning achievement, in the centre was a white jewel the shape of a tear.

Finally, the third mask absolutely memorised her. It was purple, covering the man's eyes and the top of his nose. From the right eye the mask continued up to make the shape of three small waves, each framed with gold and one falling down to the other eye. The left eye was framed with gold, which branched out to design the mask with elegant swirls that had no pattern, yet they all made sense. All the colours were glazed so that they shone evenly but not enough to be to eye-catching. The ends of the mask were pointed, one with the waves and the other on its own. It reminded Marga of a purple crown, simply on the face instead of above. It screamed power, yet control. Excitement yet serenity.

It was a dream of Marga's to own a mask like theirs. If even just to wear one for a while.

But despite her age, she knew it would never come true.

Even from where Marga was hidden, she could see the golden paint on the other side, evidence of the magic that no one had confirmed, but everyone knew was real. She'd always wondered if the legend had been true. If the masks really were cursed. Her friend Otto had used to say that the masks were made of the bones of their ancestors, but Marga didn't believe that. Retta had said they were enchanted so that if anyone ever saw underneath the mask, they would turn to ashes in an instant. Marga hoped that wasn't true. But she had no proof.

No one had any proof.

It was all just speculation.

"Marga!" she jumped out of her trance at the sound of her name. "Marga? Marga, where are you?" she cringed, the fantasy falling away as reality seeped back in. She knew that she couldn't run. It would just make it worse when she eventually went home.

Slipping through the crowd she made her way towards the voice. From her eye line she was able to make out the familiar sandals that were tied just below her knees, underneath her plain pink dress. Marga hurried over to her, finally meeting her so she could stare up at her bright blue eyes.

"Marga!" Hakuei exclaimed. Her hair swooshed to the side as she knelt down to examine her. "Are you alright? You know not to run off like that!" Marga didn't protest as Hakuei turned her gently to make sure she hadn't gotten scratched. Sometimes Marga thought her sister could be to overprotective. She knew better than to say that out loud.

Once she was sure Marga was okay, Hakuei got to her feet and put her hands on her hips. "Marga, you know just as well as I do that you can't leave before it gets dark without telling someone! Mistress Madaura won't be happy."

Panicked slipped through her when she looked up at Hakuei with pleading eyes. "D-don't tell Madaura that I ran out! Please sister, she'll be so mad! Mother can be so scary when she's mad!" Hakuei hesitated.

But eventually gave in. "Alright, I won't tell her. Just promise you won't do this again, alright." Marga sighed gratefully as she took her hand, allowing her older sister to lead her away from the crowd and back towards their home. "Why did you sneak out anyway," Hakuei asked in curiosity. "It's not like you."

She bowed her head so she didn't have to meet her gaze. "I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted to see the masks," She added, glancing back wistfully to catch the last glimpses of the royal members as they walked towards the palace, ignoring the whispers of the crowd that had gathered around them. Hakuei glanced back, but unlike Marga who looked with wonder and awe, Hakuei's eyes were filled with annoyance and pity.

"You shouldn't go out of your way to see them," Hakuei advised her with a sharp edge to her tone. "You don't want to get involved in the politics of their lives." But the young girl didn't hear her.

"What do you think it's like?" Marga asked innocently, missing Hakuei's comment. "To wear masks like that? To live among the 12? It sounds incredible," She sighed, imagining a life different with hers with naïve optimism.

Hakuei on the other hand barely glanced back at the group that passed on. "I think it would be rather horrible," she answered honestly. "To have to hide yourself for so long so that your own face could become your mask." Marga did not hear her, entranced by the ideas that were dancing in her head.

Legend had it, the twelve kings and queens from each nation ruled the lands in a council of unity. No one knew who their leaders were. They could be a man you passed by in the street. Or a child who asked for an extra piece of bread. It was impossible to know. Until they told you.

If you paid attention enough, you could discover who the ruler of each country was, but not know who they really were. A person could match a mask to a country, but it took time and effort to discover the truth. They had no reason to tell the population so it was hard to find out. Their names were not secrets, but again, unless you met one in person or someone else told you, there was no way for the common citizens to know. The people of Kanji, the capital of the Kina Kingdom, could only refer to them by the designs of their masks, styles of their hair, or generally call them 'a member of affiliate of the council of 12.' Not only were the 12 members made to wear masks, but so were their direct subordinates, family members or anyone else who knew their identity. No one could know who hid underneath the mask. Each mask was entranced with magic to make sure that did not change.

The only way for it to change was if someone with a mask told you who they were, or took their mask off in front of you. Then the person would be able to see through the mask.

But for regular citizens, that was just a dream. So instead, the continued on, sending suspicious glances at strangers or even fellow civilians, in case they were royalty in true form. Many people wanted to know. Who were the ones with the power of a djinn? The ones who had magical powers that they could not understand. The people who held the lives of their friends and family in their hands. The very people who could change their lives with a snap of a finger.

Most people wanted to know.

Others didn't care.

Often, it was the ones who didn't want to know who found the truth.

 **Hi guys! New story! Hopefully it will work out well. It's the same time with the same powers of the regular magi universe, but politics, where people are and historical events are different. I don't own magi.**


	2. Meeting of the Twelve

Meeting of the Twelve

 **I just want to remind people that in this world, though most of the people and powers are the same, the history of people and their countries are different. If details don't match up with the manga, it's likely done on purpose for a plan I have later in the future. It won't make sense right away, but it will in time.**

As soon as the servant had shut the doors behind them, they bowed low to the newcomers. "Welcome king Sinbad and Princess Yamuriha."

Yamu and Jafar nodded at the servants while Sinbad went ahead. In the centre of the room the rest of the twelve sat around a round table with their advisors or siblings standing at their sides. Sinbad couldn't recognize them all by the masks, he'd lost track. Yamu hurried over to her Magnustand's spot, though they would have no say in the meeting without her father, their king, there to attend. Sinbad wondered what his excuse was. Beside them was the King of Heliophat with two advisors and the prince who Sinbad recognized as Sharkkon. Balbaad had their king with his two brothers and guards behind him. Yamato of Kina had the largest chair, since it was his country. There was Phartevia's queen, Artemyra's queen, Kou's king and prince, as well as two Kings from Laem. Their chairs were squished into their spot, both of them looking very uncomfortable with the arrangement. From what Sinbad had heard of their politics, he wasn't surprised.

The Kings of Sasan, Akita and the Queen of Imuchakk had not arrived yet, but he was not surprised. Their countries were even further away from Kina than Sindria was. Despite that, Kouen glared at him when he took his spot next to Balbaad and Jafar stood behind him.

"You're late," Kouen told him. Hid red mask that covered his eyes was very simple, only a black outline and flames at the bottom. Sinbad still remembered when Kouen had become ruler after his father had passed and he'd shown them his true identity. It had been the most recent time someone had revealed their true identity to the council, but it was a rule that they all did. Anyone who entered their meetings must have shown their face ahead of time.

"Ah, sorry about that," Sinbad apologized easily as he leaned back in his chair. "We may have taken a few wrong turns on our way getting here." Jafar mumbled under his breath how 'taking a few wrong turns' did not mean 'spend time flirting with palace women.' Sinbad ignored him.

Kouen did not look pleased, but as always, he let it go. "Very well. Since we are all here, I believe we should get started."

"Should we not wait until all of the twelve have arrived," Titus asked. His mask was gold on one half, black on the other, with white jewels like tears trailing down from the eyes. It fit over his entire face, leaving only the mouth to be seen. That did surprise Sinbad. Of all of them, Titus was the most willing to share his identity with others.

Koumei, and man who wore a mask on half his face that was simply black with a few white outlining, answered him. (It actually reminded Sinbad of a bird) "The Kings of Sasan and Akita have run into some difficulties on their way here, and won't arrive for another week. They have asked us not to make any decisions that will affect their countries until they arrive. As well, Magnustands ruler had some important business to attend to and will not be free until tomorrow." There was some murmurs through the crowd, but no one spoke up. Yamu, their king's daughter, remained silent. A representative of the king could not do anything in the meeting, they all knew. "As well, Queen Rurumu of Imuchakk will not arrive for more than a month." Sinbad raised his eyebrow skeptically.

"Why?"

Kouen paused. His guests could see through the mask him surveying the room, noting all the faces before answering. "From what we had heard…her mask has broken."

At first it was silence. Sinbad whistled. Others gasped so softly it sounded like a simple breeze. Jafar's eyes widened behind his mask, disbelief evident in his expression. The masks that were made for the royalty of the countries elite had been made for each new leader and their affiliates long before their reign even began. Rurumu was the daughter of the earlier leader, before his assassination by a group of traveling assassins, which meant she had her mask for years. They knew the masks were not invincible, yet never had a mask been damaged. Magicians who served under the royalty were charged with making sure the masks would not fall off, completely conceal the identity of the wearer, as well as making sure that they would not break under battle, harsh weather, or any kind of magic. The only times masks were destroyed was if the wearer was destroyed and they had no use for the mask anymore. The only country that passed their masks on from generations instead of making new ones were Sasan and Artemyra. Which meant the masks couldn't have been destroyed by age…

Interrupting the silence, Sinbad asked, "Did they say how her mask was broken?" Sinbad knew he was not the only one whose mind immediately flashed back to the assassins who had killed her father.

The King of kou did not seem surprised by the question. "They gave us no further detail other than that the mask was broken and they would not leave their lands until it was complete." Sinbad frowned, but was not surprised. The people involved with the twelve were always secretive, and despite their supposed trust, they kept just as many secrets from others in the Twelve.

Ahbmad of Balbaad leaned back in his chair like it was a couch. "Fine. We won't be making any final decisions. Can we start the meeting?" Other rules sent each other annoyed glances which the king of Balbadd didn't notice, to absorbed in whatever world he thought he was the king of. The third prince's cheeks turned a shade brighter with embarrassment for his brother, or perhaps that was just from the bright red and orange mask which looked like it was constantly on fire. If it wasn't for the golden chain that reached both sides form the middle, Sinbad would have assumed his mask really was on fire.

Raising an eyebrow, Kouen obeyed. "Fine. As we all know, there are a few things that we need to discuss over the next three months that will affect all our countries. I believe most of our topics should not be discussed without all our leaders here." He paused for assurance from all the leaders. None of them objected, so he continued. "For now, we many discuss the battle strategies for the upcoming war against the Dark Continent." A few murmurs were spread through the room, mostly the servants and associates of the Twelve. Not many of the kings or queens could speak even in whisper. Anything they said at the table must be shared with them all.

"Have we confirmed that we are going to war against the Dark Continent?" Queen Serendine of Parthevia asked skeptically. All of them knew how included Kouen especially was on going straight to war.

Kouen must have known they knew this, for he gave an explanation. "In the last meeting, unfortunately you had to leave early because of the trouble in your kingdom your majesty, we decided to at least go along with planning strategies for the battle and wait to see what they do before actually putting any plans into action. If they do not attack or send us any message by the end of this year, we will attack on our own." The rest of the members nodded in agreement while Serendine tried to conceal her disapproval.

Even though he wouldn't say it out loud yet, Sinbad agreed with her disapproval. The Dark Continent was an area no one had ever visited, or at least said that they visited, in known history. They had never made any contact with anyone outside of their nation, and they were cut off from the world by a series of caves and darkness, called the line between the known and unknown world. Sinbad had visited the countries around, but he'd never been to the continent itself. Rumors of the people in the land spread from nation to nation Children with the power of beasts. Creatures that popped out of the ground and ate a man alive. Nothing had been confirmed. For decades before, most had decided to leave them alone.

Until a recent incident.

The council decided they had no choice to get involved.

"The armies of Kou are ready to take on the Line separating the known and unknown world," Kouen told them. "We recommend the armies of Artemyia and Sasan go with them in order to be able to travel the terrain…" They continued talking about the difference strengths and weaknesses of various armies, how many people should stay in case the war was brought home, and where exactly they should try to invade. Sinbad leaned back in his seat, pinching his nose in exasperation. He couldn't believe he'd come all that way, considering all the problems that they could have been discussing, for battle strategies? Sometimes he wondered if the twelve secretly wanted to avoid the truth of the situations in their countries.

They must have known they couldn't avoid their nation's problems forever.

"Can we guarantee that the public minds of all our nations are on our side?" The prince of Balbaad mumbled too loudly. They doubted he had meant for anyone to hear him, but they had. A few of them actually turned to him, interested in his statement.

The king of his country hissed at him. "Prince Alibaba, shut up! Who said you were allowed to talk?" Alibaba closed his mouth and hung his head sheepishly.

"No, speak." Sinbad ordered, excited someone had finally changed the subject to something more interesting. "I want to hear what he means by that." Ahbmad did not look happy, but begrudgingly he waved the okay for his brother to speak.

Alibaba looked surprised anyone had even heard him, but hurried to answer before he could lose his chance. "I think all our leaders can agree that each country has forms of mutiny because of how many things we hide form them. In some cases, because of how private the royal courts are, they may as well not even live in their own countries. If we ask them to go to war against a country they don't know about, for a task that we likely will not tell them, and serve under people who won't show their faces to us, can we guarantee that they will all lift their swords? Some may see it as a chance to rebel against their king- or queen," He added hastily, glancing at the queen of Artemyra. The fact that no one objected meant they

"What do you propose we do prince Alibaba?" Titus asked politely. At the question Alibaba hesitated, surprised that anyone had taken him seriously as he also came to the realization he hadn't thought that far ahead.

"I…I'm not sure. W-we could start by giving them a better reason to go to war than 'the strangers who wear masks' say so."

"He's not wrong," Queen Serendine noted. "Just on my way here I overheard a crowd speaking against our rule, saying we were too suspicious and have too much power." A few grumbles were passed around the table. Sinbad overheard someone say, 'that wouldn't happen in my country.' he doubted that comment would get him very far.

"It is a tradition for the kings and queens identity's to be hidden from the public," Koumei, prince of Kou, added in. "For the safety of the ones who rule, so they can detach themselves from personal affections to their citizens and think of the good of all countries of the alliance, and to maintain a power over the people through the citizens ignorance, among other things," Koumei quickly finished, deciding not to go into detail the reason for the masks that had been decided upon centuries ago. They all knew the history.

However, the king of Kina murmured, "You know, with all that is happening lately, can we really afford to follow tradition? The masks are supposed to install fear in our citizens, but all that fear is doing for some is making them want to get rid of us."

"Are you suggesting we get rid of our masks?" The Queen of Artemyra demanded incredulously. From the shocked eyes and glances of doubt that went around the room, Sinbad could tell that they had gotten off topic.

If he didn't intervene, things were going to get out of hand. "No one is saying we need to get rid of the masks," he told them, all attention shifting towards him. "We just need to give the citizens of the twelve nations a reason to trust that the masks are for the best once again. The masks install a fear into the citizens so they do not attack their rulers, but we can't forget they were originally also intended to be a reassurance for the people. We all know how valuable identity and secrets are. With ours kept hidden, they believe that we hold an upper hand against our enemies, whether we actually do or not, since the people only know of the rumors that go around. As far as they know, the dark continent is nothing but an anthill against our power."

"But King Sinbad, perhaps that is the problem." Titus interjected. "Just because the people believe we have the power to do anything, doesn't mean they know we will use it for the best. In the past our ancestors kept their identities secret while still speaking to the public freely, but now we have become too distant with them. As far as they know, or what some of them believe already, we don't care of the people and have no reason to help them. If it were a battle, how can we guarantee that we will stay by their side and have their best interests at heart? The people are just as afraid of us as they are of our enemies."

A silence slipped through the crowd as they debated his words. Few of the leaders were foolish to say he was wrong. The masks were a tradition of their ancestors that had worked in the past.

However, the past had worked differently than the present.

"So we need to reassure the public," Kouen concluded. "Make them believe we are on their side…Assure them we are no different while still convincing them we hold a higher power…" Sinbad didn't believe that would be too hard to convince, his metal vessel strapped against his waste like a trinket. He doubted showing the people one of his strongest weapons would be the smartest move.

"Personally, in most countries I don't believe this is as big a problem as it is in others." Queen Serendine voiced her opinion. "Most countries have succeeded in staying in touch with the public while still keeping their identity, power, and the workings of the palace a secret."

"True," Aarmakon spoke up, reminding everyone that he was actually there. "But the biggest countries, the ones with a bigger population, are the ones that don't see their rulers regularly. Those countries would be Kou, Parthevia, and Laem." Titus glared at Nerva from behind his mask, showing that he had thought the same thing before the meeting many times before. Nerva pretended not to notice him, feigning surprise at the suggestion. The two of their approaches to governing their nations were extremely different, Sinbad had learned from meetings in the past. Nerva was more traditional, and liked to avoid any problems that suggested the old ways needed to be changed. Titus, when he had joined, showed a very different idea, and that he wanted many things in their country to change. He was more open even with his identity, though for a while Sinbad hadn't been sure if he was a boy or a girl. Because of the political struggle in the country, neither of them got to make any decisions as of late.

Out of curiosity, Sinbad wondered just how they were going to decide which one would lead.

His question was answered before he could even say it.

"In Laem, we will hold an election." Titus gave his suggestion before anyone could stop him. "We'll allow the people to elect their officials before we start the war." His fellow leader swirled around in his chair to stare at him in outrage.

"An election?" Nerva shouted. "Are you insane?"

But Titus held firm. "No. let's allow the people to decide which one of us they want to rule. That way we can get closer to the people while also solving our own political problems." If Jafar wouldn't have criticized him for it, Sinbad would have laughed out loud when his mouth dropped open.

"Y-you want to let the people decide politics?" he summarized, as if hoping he would say something different.

"It's never been done before," Armakon noted, but he did not look bothered by the idea.

Ahbmad on the other hand shook his head. "That sounds like a terrible idea. Who would let their people decide such important matters? What do they know compared to those who have been groomed for success like us?"

"I'd watch your tongue Ahbmad," Queen Mira purred humouredly. "Not all our members here were fed hand and foot on a silver platter."

"Let's put it to a vote," the king of Kina, Yamato, suggested. "I like votes. Since it's only for Laem, I doubt it's a problem if not all our members are here." The others glanced at each other for confirmation. They all nodded in approval. "Alright. Those who are against the votes raise your hands."

Nerva, Ahbmad, Kouen and surprisingly, Mira, raised their hands. Sinbad raised an eyebrow at her, but she just shrugged. The mischievous glance she gave him behind her feathered mask. Jafar would not have been happy with the ideas Sinbad started to get.

"And those in favour?" Titus, Serendine, Armakan, and Yamato raised their hands. Everyone turned to Sinbad expectantly, waiting his response. He glanced from Titus to Nerva, then to all the others at the table. Perhaps it wasn't well known, or according to how they saw he acted, they would have assumed he would have been one of the few not to be bothered if the twelve became more public.

They were wrong.

Sinbad did not want them to become more public. He wanted to know the exact number of people who knew who he was before anyone else did. He wanted to be able to count the people who knew his true power on his hand. He wanted the only ones who knew close details about him to be people who he could keep so close he could say where they were at all times. Sinbad, more than most he assumed, had many secrets he knew should never come out.

But the thing about having many secrets?

They were safer as long as the secrets of others could be used to hide them.

"I vote in favour," Sinbad told them after quite some time. Nerva cursed under his breath while Titus smiled at Sinbad gratefully. Sinbad smiled cheerfully back, already putting a plan in motion to get Titus on his side. How many secrets could the so-called golden boy have that Sinbad could use to help keep his hidden?

"It's decided then," Kouen concluded, ignoring the annoyed grunts Nerva and Ahbmad gave. Mira and Kouen did not seem too bothered by losing the vote, and continued as normal. "However, it does not help with our other countries, Kou and Parthevia. And while these are the countries with the most problems with the citizens, they are not the only ones with these problems."

"Let's do something here in Kina," Yamato suggested. "If the people from the other countries see we put lots of effort into helping a country with as small a population as my country has, they would be assured that they would absolutely be in our thoughts. While it is not a permanent solution, it is a quick one if we are to go to war soon." From conversing with Yamato on a personal level, Sinbad knew he secretly just wanted more attention to be spent on his small island of a country.

As the discussions went on, Sinbad groaned and leaned back in his chair. He was getting nothing done. They hadn't even approached the subject that he'd wanted to discuss, and what they did want to speak of held little to no interest to him. "Jafar, how much longer was this meeting supposed to go again?" Jafar's death glare sent chills up Sinbad's spine.

"I'd be careful if I were you your majesty," Jafar advised. "Who knows when the lights will turn on you?"


	3. Rebellion in the Streets

Rebellion in the Streets

Hakuryuu knew it would be better for everyone if he kept his mouth shut. Just stay down, just stay low, don't do anything…

That lasted all of five seconds.

WHAM!

Fatima went down with a crash. The child who had been cowering in fear just a moment ago went running to Hakuryuu and hid behind his leg. If Hakuryuu wasn't busy trying to look brave, he would have told the kid to run faster than he'd ever run before. Too late, Fatima picked himself off the floor, rubbing the fresh bruise on his cheek. And boy, did he look angry.

"Hakuryuu!" He screamed, his voice boomed through the house. "How dare you attack me! Are you trying to start a fight?" Hakuryuu bared his teeth, his eyes flashed murderously at the idea.

It hadn't been his intent, but he had no problem with it. "If you want to fight, I'm willing to. It's about time we found out if you can really land a punch on someone who isn't less than half your size." The young boy behind him shivered, pulling on Hakuryuu's pants to hide his face. Hakuryuu ignored that.

He also ignored the fact that Fatima was actually a foot taller than him, and much wider. "Did you forget who is in charge here? Do you want to be put in your place?" His hand reached down into his pocket where the whole house knew he kept his blade. Hakuryuu tensed, but didn't back down. _Fine. At least he'll get injured just as much._

"Fatima!" Both of them turned to see Hakuei. Her dark hair was loose at her sides, and Hakuryuu guessed she'd woken up recently. In a rush she placed herself in between Hakuryuu and Fatima before he could object. "Stop it, what are you two doing? You can't fight in here, there are children around." Hakuryuu hoped she wasn't talking about him. Only then did he notice a few other children peeking through one of the doors that lead to the hallway they were having their argument. He should have known better than to have hoped for privacy in an orphanage of over fifty kids.

The second man in charge glowered down at Hakuei angrily. "Your younger brother just punched me in the face! He's the one who started it, I was just going to finish it." Hakuei cast a glare in her brother's direction, one that he quickly interpreted as, _we'll talk later._

"I'm sure my brother feels very guilt for what he did, but you need to stop. Let it go Fatima."

"Who do you,"

"Do you really want to get mother angry?" Hakuei suggested. "She's taking a nap. Do you want her to hear you?" That shut Fatima up like a light being flicked off. Even Hakuryuu became more aware of the noise he made.

Madaura was the 'mother' of the cities orphanage. It was a large building that had used to be a museum until the city had rebuilt it. Old, but not falling apart at least. Yet. It still had the smell of old stones and clay from the sculptures. Madaura oh so generously took in all the children that the city brought to her. Madaura, the lady that the whole town brought up as a saint. The 'mother' of the town where all the children who lived around admired her. The woman who took children in as her own.

As long as you were valuable enough.

She was required, by law, to take in anyone who was brought to her. Madaura had been able to scheme some personal providence out of it. She made sure that the children loved her. She MADE the children love her. That way, when the children got old, they would go and be successful, then come back and give her whatever she liked. If you were not someone she thought would be useful to her in later years, you might as well have not existed. You'd have to do whatever it took to please mother unless you wanted to be completely destroyed by the children who she favoured and allowed to do whatever they thought was necessary in order to make the other children useful.

Years ago, that was the kind of home Hakuryuu and his older sister Hakuei had been forced to live in. They'd had a hard time for a while, since Madaura didn't seen any use of a child with ugly burns and another who burned the entire kitchen whenever she tried to cook. Hakuei had been able to stay in her good graces enough so that at least the others left them alone. For the most part. Hakuryuu still made enemies from time to time, Fatima being one of them. Fatima had become one of those useful children who Hakuryuu had hated the instant he'd met him. As time went on, Fatima had become a favourite while Hakuryuu just did his best to avoid him and 'mother' entirely. It had been years since then, and while Hakuei was and adult and was allowed to leave, Hakuryuu was still a teenager. So Hakuei stayed and worked under Madaura, until Hakuryuu would be old enough for the two of them to leave.

Shaking off his anger, Fatima put on a smug smile. "Right. I forgot Hakuryuu always needs his sister to come and protect him." Hakuryuu's cheeks grew hot as his pride was taken down another notch.

"Big words from a momma's-" Hakuryuu tried to yell, but Hakuei elbowed him in the ribs before he could.

"You should get down to mother before she wakes," She suggested with her passive, 'I'm innocent so you can listen to me,' voice. "Be ready if she needs anything."

At the thought of mother needing his assistance, Fatima instantly forgot his anger. "Fine. Try to get your little brother under control." Neither of them commented as he stormed away to the stairs, also ignoring the children who peaked out of their rooms curiously. As soon as he had left, the children went back to their own lives. The child behind Hakuryuu mumbled a small thank you before rushing off so quickly Hakuryuu hardly saw him move. What an odd kid.

Hakuryuu huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I don't need you to come and fight my battles for me sister. I can handle myself," he told her, so angry she could feel it in the air.

The anger must have been contagious, for she frowned back at him just as angry. "I wouldn't have to if you didn't start fights with him. You know he is Madaura's favourite. Even if you did win a fight with him, you'd be the only one punished for it. Honestly Hakuryuu," She sighed when Hakuryuu turned away from her. "I don't understand you sometimes. Why do you always want to fight the people here?"

"He was trying to attack Micheol," Hakuryuu defended himself, pointing in the direction the boy had ran. "I was just trying to defend a kid, or is that wrong?" Hakuei shook her head, tired of a conversation they'd had many times already.

"There are more ways to defend someone than by using violence."

"Sometimes fighting is the only way to fix a problem," he told her stubbornly.

"Not always," Hakuei tried to argue.

"More often than none," He fought back. "At least when I fight with Fatima or her other 'children' I get something done. I swear if I did nothing, some of these kids may as well be her slaves. If she got the chance, she'd probably make them into some," he muttered under his breath.

His sister glanced around nervously, making sure the children couldn't hear them arguing. He didn't know why she bothered. They already knew. "You know slavery is illegal here brother," Hakuei tried to reassure him. "And she's not going to try anything so close to the palace when members of the Twelve are there." That was true. It was one of the reasons Hakuryuu had grown to respect and admire the mysterious twelve kings from a distance. No matter how evil a person was, they would never try and do anything that would get the attention of the Twelve. No matter how powerful you were, the Twelve were to be respected.

Abruptly changing the subject, Hakuryuu returned to another conversation they'd had before. "You should leave sister," He advised her. "Others stay because they believe she is their mother, but you don't have to! You're an adult, go find a place and get away from her." Ignoring her brothers wishes Hakuei gave him a sad smile.

"And leave my foolish brother and all the children here on their own? Even if I did leave, where would I go? The only money we have is from me working here, and all that goes to paying for food and medicine. No, I'll stay here with everyone."

"For how much longer?" Hakuryuu whined. "You don't want to stay here forever, do you?" She didn't respond. Hakuryuu was a dreamer, and wanted to do big things with his life, or at least get a choice in what happened in his life again. Hakuei was more realistic. She just wanted to live her life in peace, away from the attention of others. There was no need to cause any problems. As long as she and the ones she cared about were happy, she trusted that things would turn out alright.

Without giving him a straight answer, she patted her brother on the shoulder. "Let's just wait until you are old enough to leave," Hakuei advised. Her brother huffed, but didn't pursue the topic. It never got to far anyway.

Pulling away from him, Hakuei picked up an empty basket as well as a small sack filled with coins. "For now, I need to go to the shop and get some fruits. We ran out yesterday, and I need to get some before dinner tonight." Her brother didn't reply, stewing in his own disappointment. With a sigh, she glanced around the room. "Do you know where Marga is right now? I want to bring her with me after last night." Right. Hakuei had told him how Marga had snuck out to see members of the twelve walking through town. Hakuei had said it was silly how she'd risked Madaura's anger just so she could see a couple of masks.

Hakuryuu had said if he'd known they were in town, he'd have done the same thing.

Hakuei had told him to be quiet.

"I don't think mother Madaura knows that she snuck out, but I don't want to risk Marga saying something and her finding out," Hakuei was saying, oblivious to her brother who was stuck in his own world. "If she keeps talking about the masks she's going to find out she disobeyed her and left without permission."

Stubbornly Hakuryuu grunted, "Last I saw her she was playing with a cat in front of the house." His sister smiled in contrast to his scowl.

"Thank you," Hakuei replied pleasantly. "When I come back, I certainly hope Mr. Grumpy will be gone and my brother will have returned." Hakuryuu's mouth twitched up slightly, but not enough. Hakuei sighed before turning away to go on a search for someone who would hopefully be more cheerful company.

…

She was not disappointed.

"Look Hakuei! It's a cat! It's a little kitty cat with her babies! Can I go pet it, please?"

Part of her missed her grumpy, calm, collected younger brother.

The other half had a hard time hiding the smile as she pulled Marga back to her side. They walked through the market without difficulty, for a change. Vendors held their sales on either side of the street, filled with exotic fruits, meats, pastries, pots and a few clothes. Their ears were filled with the sound of merchants trying to sell their products or customers bargaining to get their product for a lower price. Any clean air was filled with the smell of foods being cooked or the hot sand on the ground. The market had no shelter form the sun, and their feet were barely protected from the sand with their sandals. It wasn't an unusual type of weather for the market. Residents of the city were used to both the heat and the cold, being near the ocean but close to the equator. Business should have been as usual.

But as they walked, Hakuei noticed how little people were in the market. Where was everybody?

After she'd finally freed the kitten from Marga's grasp, the younger girl hurried over to the familiar stall that held various fruits, vegetables and other goods. Leila, a girl with honey blond hair and eyes as warm as the sun but as dark as the earth, caught sight of them after she handed a customer a bag of apples. With a grin she leaned over their products to get a better look at Marga who began searching through all the foods for a little snack. "Hey you two. I was wondering when someone from your crew was going to come and pick up some food. Seems like you need something new every week."

Hakuei followed the younger girl to the fruits and smiled pleasantly at Leila. "It's not a crew, it's an orphanage. There are many children there who seem to think they need more food than they can handle." Leila chucked while Hakuei glanced around at their stall. "Is Sasha not here today?"

"Naw," Leila waved the question away. "She and her dad had to go and convince some of our partners from Kou to continue trading with us. You got a list you need today?"

While handing her the list, Hakuei continued the conversation. "Why do your partners want to cut off their connections here?"

Her friend answered while taking Hakuei's basket to start loading it up. "They said they don't think there is any point in trading with us here when they can get better business in other countries. Kina isn't really big, and not too much happens here to draw others to the country." With a shrug she said, "I guess I can't really blame them. The country of Kina isn't as big as other countries, you know?"

"I wouldn't know," Hakuei told her. "I've never traveled outside of this city." Shaking the thought aside she asked, "If they decide to stop trading with you, do you think you'll leave?"

The thought worried Hakuei, but Leila seemed relaxed. "No, we'll stay I'm sure. Sasha's father has other businesses in other countries to help us out if things do go bad, and the guy we trade with doesn't want to risk pulling out of any country with how quickly things change nowadays. Rebellions, strange happenings and political strife and the like." Taking a break, she leaned forward so she could whisper for only Hakuei to hear. "Sasha's dad thinks that things are going to pick up here real soon, thanks to the twelve. Rumors say they are all meeting in the palace over the next few days."

Hakuei drew back, shock written all over her face. "All of the twelve? Here? In this city?" Marga shot up from her spot on the ground where she'd been spying on a merchant making what looked like a vase.

Their seller was much more relaxed, returning to her works as she continued. "Yeah. You saw them coming through town yesterday, right? Some say they weren't the only ones who came here, but that a bunch are here. A few people believe that more are coming!" Marga squealed happily at the thought. More? Marga had never seen more than the three she'd seen the night before. Was it possible that there was going to be even more in her city?

Unfortunately, her caretaker was less than thrilled, and more than skeptical. "It's seems odd that they would all meet here in Kina. Why would they come here instead of one of the larger countries?" Again, Leila shrugged.

"I mean, you can't know for certain," Leila admitted as she finished packing the basket full with apples. "It's impossible to know without knowing someone in the palace, and even then you can't know for certain. But Sasha has a friend who works as a guard, and he said he's seen an official from at least 8 of the twelve countries there in the last week."

Marga felt her heart skip a beat with glee, while Hakuei's sped on with worry. Rumors said that the twelve were constantly traveling from one country to another to keep in touch. Some even said a king would not spend more than half a year in his own country because he was traveling so often. She'd seen many officials come through the streets, and often heard rumors of another leader in the kingdom and such. But she'd never heard of so many meeting in one place at a time. The last time she could remember their even being rumors was during the coronation of a member from Laem. And even then those rumors were farfetched and she couldn't tell which ones she could take to heart. There had been a battle during the coronation? There were two kings? One of them was both a boy and a girl, while the other was stabbed 57 times?

She'd stopped listening after that one.

"What do you think they're all doing here?" Marga asked, reminding both her elders that she existed. Her eyes were wide with excitement and curiosity. "Do you think they'll host a party?"

Hakuei sighed, wishing that traveller Nando had never told her about the allegedly magical parties held in Sindria. Leila on the other hand laughed at her curiosity. "Who knows anything about those people? I once heard a rumor that they were all secretly demons trying to control the known world, and their masks were to hide the darkness in their eyes."

Instead of scaring Marga, all she did was encourage her. "Well I heard that the real kings and queens were killed centuries ago, and that the ones who are in charge now are the descendants of the assassins who killed them, and that's why they have to wear the masks so no one finds out."

"Oh yeah?" Leila listened as she handed Hakuei her basket and she counted out the coins. "A customer once told me that all of the kings and queens are magicians, and a spell went wrong cursing them to all be disfigured forever."

"Anja told me that the powers they have that they call djinns are actually living beings who live in swords and metal!"

"Pff. That's got to be the craziest theory I've heard yet!" Leila laughed when Hakuei handed her the pay. Marga's cheeks got red with embarrassment.

"It's true! She learned it from a traveller that wore a pointy green hat and flew away on a magic broom!"

Before could respond, Hakuei took the basket and told her, "Not all the stories that your friends tell you are true Marga." Ignoring Marga's disappointment she added, "And even if it is, it's none of our business. We shouldn't be so concerned with the lives that we will never get involved in." Marga huffed and went back to staring at the foods on display. No matter what Hakuei did or said, she never seemed to want to give up the hope that the twelve were secretly magical people with amazing stories that had no explanation. She didn't want to admit that the magical world full of monsters and adventures and princesses and happy endings weren't as happy and carefree as she hoped.

From the outside, Leila watched the exchange with fascination. "What, aren't you curious to know what goes on in their secret lives of luxury?" Leila questioned in disbelief. "Personally, I'd love to see what it is like to live in their shoes. Be in control of hundreds of being, able to go around without anyone knowing who you are ,having magical powers that we can't even understand-"

"And living in a world that is probably filled with deception, lies and secrets," Hakuei finished not so optimistically. "I don't see why everyone wants to assume their lives are so much better than the ones that we have down here. How do we know their lives aren't much worse? We don't even know why they wear those masks all the time."

Both her friends had no problem answering that one. "Easy," Leila said. "Because they don't want the people to know who they are."

"But why?" Hakuei explained. "What kinds of secrets- how many secrets could the possibly have so that it's necessary for their own people to not be allowed to see their faces?" Marga hurried to open her mouth to object, defend the fantasy world that she had worked so hard to build up in her mind. Before she got the chance, Hakuei shook her head and backed off her attack. "Personally, I like living down here. We have good lives down here with the family and friends that we trust. I don't want things to change."

As Leila handed her back her change, another noise caught their attention. The three girls turned to see a crowd of people gathered around a man a little ways away. They hadn't noticed the crowd before, but over their conversation it had grown so big it was impossible to avoid. _So that's where all the customers have gone._ "Might want to be careful what you wish for," Leila advised her. "Sometimes the world has a funny way of giving you exactly what you don't want."

"Hakuei, what's going on?" She and Hakuei surveyed the crowd of people. It was a large crowd, though no one in the crowd spoke. Marga recognized Renna and Otto in the crowd, as well as a man she'd seen around named Cassim. It was a lively crowd, some people jostling and jeering in excitement and anger. But none of them were talking. Instead, all the people in the crowd were listening to one man standing on a stage, shouting something that the crowd seemed to find entertaining. "Who is that?"

"Some guy named Jamil," Leila told them. "He came this morning and's been preaching about how the twelve's rule is all wrong, blah blah blah. At one point he actually started talking about raising an army to rebel." Both her guests gaped at her in surprise.

"No!" Marga pleaded, desperate to defend the people she'd put up on pedestals.

Hakuei's worry was more justified. "Is he mad? Doesn't he know that the twelve have spies everywhere?"

"I don't think it'll be a problem," Leila shrugged carelessly. "He talks a lot but most of it is nonsense. Everyone knows we don't have the power to go up against the twelve, no matter what people say. They'll listen all they want, but no one's going to act on it. He's nothing to bother getting annoyed over. That guys just trying to start a fight. No one actually takes him seriously." Marga was relieved with the reassurance.

"Maybe they don't now," Hakuei replied with hints of suspicion in her words. "But after someone here's the same thing for too long without anything else, they may begin to believe they are their own thoughts. The saying is 'there's no such thing as bad media?'"

The merchant was too busy trying to prepare the goods for the next customer to be able to really examine her words. "Actually, I think the saying goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity." They said their farewells then headed on their way.

Unfortunately for Hakuei and Marga, that was towards the crowd.

"Who are those strangers to rule over us, tell us what to do with our lives?" the man named Jamil shouted, earning a few nods from the crowd. "None of them know us! We don't know them! Who are they to have all the power that this world has to offer? What gives them the right to do whatever they like while the rest of us can only listen and obey desperately? We don't even know what they look like! They hide among us like snakes! You could know one of them right now and never have a clue!"

Marga gaped at Hakuei. "Do you think that's true?" She asked hopefully. Hakuei rolled her eyes.

"According to them," he added with quotations, "Anyone has the power to conquer something called a 'dungeon' and gain the gift the help govern the world. But how can we do anything if they won't tell us what these are? They say everyone has an equal chance to get to power," the man shouted to the crowd. "But why is it that only those with royal blood have been able to capture dungeons?"

Out of curiosity, Marga veered towards the crowd. But Hakuei quickly snatched her away and led her in the other direction. "Come on Marga," she whispered. "Let's not get involved."

Just when they thought they were in the clear, a voice from behind them shouted, "You there!" Both girls turned to see that Jamil was pointing at them. The rest of the crowd turned to them as well, curious and patient with anticipation. "Don't you think that the government has too much power," He asked with a cocky grin, knowing he put them on the spot. "Isn't it about time someone stood up to them? Someone should show them that they can't control us forever?" There were a few cheers from the crowd. Marga's blood boiled at the accusations made towards her heroes.

"No!" She shouted back, surprising the crowd. "They've done nothing wrong! I believe the kings and queens are great and powerful people, and someday, I want to meet them?" While he was surprised at her reply, it didn't take Jamil much effort to come up with a reply.

"How can that dream come true? They don't ever speak to commoners, why would they want to speak to you?" Her cheeks turned red and her hands balled up into fists at her side. Unfortunately thanks to her size, all it did was make her look adorable.

"That's not true!" She shouted hopefully. "I'm sure they-"

"I think," Hakuei interrupted, "That a wise man who really knew what he was doing wouldn't speak as openly as this unless he wanted someone who worked under the twelve to come and put him to death." Jamil's eyes widened. Perhaps he really hadn't considered that. A cold sweat started trickling down his back as Hakuei grabbed Marga's hand and pulled her away, a smug smile on her face.

Not long after that, the crowd had slowly dispersed, and Jamil left to cause problems in another way.

As they headed home, Marga asked, "You believe that the twelve kings and queens should be in power. Don't you Hakuei?"

She didn't answer.


	4. Little Blue Spy

Little Blue Spy

Alibaba knew stomping around the halls of the palace wasn't something that royalty was supposed to do. But he was feeling very frustrated that day.

"How dare you speak at my meeting!" Ahbmad had said. "You are not a king, you are just a prince! Do you honestly think you can do a better job at ruling than me?" Alibaba had kept his mouth shut while his older brother had yelled at him, and Sahbmad had cowered at his brother's side.

Luckily there had been none of the servants or other members of royal families to witness his embarrassment. On the other hand, that meant Ahbmad was allowed to be as mad as he wanted to be. "I didn't mean to undermine your authority Ahbmad," Alibaba replied. "I was just saying what came to mind,"

"Keep your opinions to yourself next time," Ahbmad hissed at him. Sahbmad shivered, pressing against the far wall as if he could melt into it and never return. "Just because father made me promise to bring you to the meetings made by the twelve before he passed doesn't mean I want to. You may like to think you're better than the citizens, but you don't belong in the presence of the twelve any more than the rodents that you used to live with." From behind his flaming mask his sheepish face hardened.

"Rodents?" he growled. "What is that supposed to mean. Sahbmad whimpered and edged towards the door.

His brother wasn't able to catch the mood so quickly. "You know what I mean. Those rodents you used to live with? The kids in the street, you obviously, and that mother of yours,"

That was when Alibaba punched his king in the face.

Okay. So Alibaba may have stomping around not just out of anger, but to also find a quicker way to get away from his brother. As soon as he woke up, he'd been screaming bloody murder loud enough for the entire country to hear him. The only reason Alibaba had gotten away in one piece was because Sahbmad was able to distract his brother with the idea of having an exquisite banquet. At the moment he was running around the basement looking for something to do until he thought it was safe to head back upstairs.

Alibaba remembered his life in the slums very well. Maybe it was because of his past that he was able to think about how the citizens would. He remembered looking up to the twelve like idols, everyone whispering secrets and stories about them, no one having an idea if they were true. His friends and him used to make masks and pretend to be knights of the twelve, running around and going on amazing adventures that had to be kept secret because they were to dark and dangerous for their people to know. (Aka, their parents.) He used to think that they could do anything.

Until he became one.

He remembered the golden mask that completely covered his father's face. He remembered his surprise when his father had taken off his mask in private, the first time anyone had ever taken off their mask in front of Alibaba. He remembered his mother's delicate blue mask that had been torn in half after his father's advisors decided not to tell the queen about his affair. And he remembered his father giving him his mask, and the first time he had put it on. And he remembered the realization that the idols he'd looked up to were just as lost and confused as the people he'd grown up with. Just as human.

A lot had changed after that.

It took his a while to find a place he thought he would be safe. A pantry. At least there was some fruit in there. If Sahbmad really did have to throw their king a party, Alibaba didn't think he was going to be invited. Glancing around, he saw that only a few guards with the plain full, black and white masks were around. He could deal with them judging him if it meant he got to keep his life. Slipping through the door he jumped in and hurried to slam it shut behind him. With a long sigh he slid against the door and onto the floor. Great. What was he going to do? Slowly he opened his eyes to see his entertainment for the next few hours.

A boy was covered in watermelon juice, munching on a slice as he stared at Alibaba happily.

Alibaba blinked. Then he blinked again. Nothing happened except for his blinking and the two of them stared at each other. Until the boy smiled.

"HI!"

"Gah!" Alibaba scrambled to his feet as the boy munched on his food innocently and happily. "W-what are you doing down here? You can't be down here, who are you supposed to be?" The boy just watched him, his blue eyes watching his every movement like a hawk. A very suspicious little hawk.

"Well you're down here," The boy reasoned. "Be careful, your mask is coming loose." With a jolt Alibaba hurried to cover his face, only to find his mask was set perfectly. Of course it was, they applied it with magic just that morning. They never came off. "That's a cool mask mister," he admired. "It looks like fire. Mine just looks like a sea monster."

It did. Kind of. Alibaba had never seen a mask like his, and he knew for certain that it didn't belong to any of the countries of the twelve. It was shaped like a sea monster, covering his whole face. It even had a mouth with pointed teeth and large scales in the design. However, it had a bright yellow circle on the forehead. It looked just like the design on his metal vessel. No one had dared to replicate it before. The colour was bright blue, like the sky. Outlines around the fins, eyes and edges were pure white. It reminded Alibaba of the reflection of the sky on the sea monster as it was breaking the surface of the ocean.

"Who are you?" Alibaba demanded. "Which country are you from?" Again, the boy didn't respond. He took another bite of the watermelon. "A-And stop eating all of that food! It's not yours!" Stomping over to the boy he snatched it out of his hands.

He yelped. "Hey! Give that back! I'm hungry!" Alibaba grinned as the boy jumped to try and get his food. The watermelon was far out of his reach, since Alibaba was more than a head taller than him.

"Not until you tell me what you are doing here," Alibaba demanded. "Who are you? Are you a prince? A son of one of the twelve?" They'd been told earlier that the country from the north wasn't coming, but the boy's hair was about the same colour? Maybe a little darker? And Alibaba had never seen them put it in a braid before.

"I'm not a son of the twelve," The boy huffed as he crossed his arms. "My name is Aladdin."

"Well Aladdin, what are you doing here? There's more food upstairs if you want." Alibaba wasn't sure why he offered more. The child looked like he ate enough for a person twice his size.

"No!" Aladdin jumped, making Alibaba jumped. "I can't go up there! I have to talk to you!"

Alibaba rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure you are. And ask me what, how much food you can eat without anyone noticing? I think you've passed that line," Alibaba gestured to the leftover mess he'd made.

The young kid shook his head at him. "No, this is serious! I've been looking for you Alibaba, and I need to talk to you!" He hesitated to glance back at the food. "When I was looking around I started down here and I…well…It all looked so good and no one else was eating it." He supposed that the boy was trying to be funny. Maybe.

Instead, Alibaba froze. "How do you know my name?" The boy glanced up at him. He was calm, composed, with an innocent smile on his face. Alibaba was stressed from his fight, lost from trying to find a place to hide, and shocked that the strange kid who Alibaba had never seen before. The Twelve prided themselves on secrecy. Everyone had to be known by several members from both countries. Alibaba had never seen him before. It had been nearly three years since he'd seen someone with a mask they didn't know. No one got through their defences. NO one. "…Who are you?"

"I told you," he replied with a smile. "I'm Aladdin, and you are Alibaba, third prince to the line of the throne of Balbaad. Your mother was from the slums, but your father loved her and took you in after she died." Alibaba tensed. Someone knew that much? No one was supposed to know that much about him.

As he stepped back the boy continued. "Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, just please listen. Bad things are happening in the ranks of the twelve, bad things. I just want to help, but I can't do it without you!"

That had to be a joke. The watermelon in his hands was forgotten, fell to the ground with a splash. "Without me?" Aladdin nodded earnestly.

"Haven't you noticed weird things are happening lately? Hundreds of years of peace, and suddenly the council is debating war? A mask that should be invincible to any human material is broken in two? What about the suspicious rumors going through the twelve? Or the dangerous 'accident's' that have cause problems for all members? You know that the twelve prides themselves in knowing absolutely everything that is going on in all the countries and making sure that no one else knows what they can do. But there are things going on that they don't know about. How is that possible?" Alibaba hoped he hadn't heard him right. That was classified. Only members of the royal family were allowed to know that much detail.

"How do you know so much about the twelve?"

Aladdin shook his head, trying to get back on topic. "That's not important. What is important is that something is coming. Bad things. And I need your help to stop them before they get started. They won't stop until they get exactly what they want." Who? Alibaba wanted to ask who would get exactly what they wanted, but quickly shut his mouth. The boy knew a lot. If he knew so much, that meant Alibaba wasn't the one to deal with him. That kind of information went straight to the council.

"Look, if you think this information is so important, than you shouldn't be talking to me. Let's go find my brother, he'll be able to call a meeting and-"

"No!" Aladdin grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks. "I don't want to talk to the council! You should know that they are hiding something, everyone one of them! I don't know who I can trust in that circle. You are the only one I know is truly a good person."

"Me?"

"You!" Aladdin repeated. "You are the one who should be king, not your brother. I need to make you a king!" That was enough. Actually, those weren't the first words that crossed through Alibaba's mind when he heard that. Other than the thoughts of treason and the fact that he still didn't know who the boy was, another thought surfaced quicker. And that one he said out loud.

"Are you crazy?" Alibaba shrieked. "Y-you can't just talk about stuff like that here! If my brother heard you- or if anyone heard you…"

Then there was knocking on the door.

Alibaba let out a shriek that only bats could hear. Aladdin tensed, and they both swung around to see the door. Their hearts drummed in their chests as they waited for another.

After a moment, there was another knock. "Prince Alibaba? Are you in there? I'd like to speak to you." In an instant Alibaba felt so relieved that he wanted to cry.

"K-King Sinbad!" Alibaba shouted back. "I-I'll be out in a minute." Turning to the boy he ordered. "Stay here. King Sinbad will want to talk to you." But when he saw him, Aladdin was shaking his head fervently.

"No, not him!" Aladdin begged. "Don't trust him, he's hiding too many secrets!"

Of course, Alibaba didn't listen. Pulling away he hurried to the door and swung it open. King Sinbad stood at the door, hand outstretched to knock again. For the first time that Alibaba had ever seen, he didn't have any advisors. With him. His eyes widened behind his mask, but the confidence never left his features. At least the features that Alibaba could see. He'd only seen him without his mask once, and that was when his father had asked him to show Alibaba as a personal favour. Apparently even Alibaba's older brothers hadn't seen Sinbad's real face, and only a few members of the council had.

Unfortunately, Alibaba hadn't spoken to Sinbad since then.

Until, well, now.

"Hi. Prince Alibaba, was it?" Alibaba's eyes widened. He didn't think Sinbad knew his name.

"Y-Yeah, that's me. I'm Rashid's son…B-but of course you knew that, right. I'm Alibaba!" Sinbad blinked again while Alibaba prayed that the world would open up and swallow him whole.

"Yes, I know you. I guessed you had come down here after running away from your brother." Inwardly Alibaba cringed. Again. He wondered if it was possible for his insides would eventually shrivel up from embarrassment then he could literally die of shame.

"You…You heard that?"

His head tilted to the side as he gave him a sympathetic smile. It was the most genuine expression Alibaba had seen in a long time. Somehow Sinbad was always an easy man to open up to, even if you hardly knew him. "I don't think I was the only one either." Glancing back he asked, "Who are you talking to?"

At least the distraction helped him forget his shame momentarily. "Oh, right. You've got to meet," But when he turned to introduce him to Aladdin, the young boy had disappeared. His eyes widened when he saw he was completely alone. "The…The boy…Aladdin, he was here…" But he wasn't there. No one was there. All that was left was the mess of watermelons on the ground.

"The…Aladdin was here…" He turned to Sinbad who was giving him a strange look. "Uh...This looks really bad, doesn't it?" For a moment he just looked at Alibaba like he was crazy. Great.

But after a moment, the feeling passed. "I've gone through way to many things to be able to judge anything as crazy anymore." He took a step back so Alibaba could walk out. With another suspicious glance backwards, Alibaba left the pantry and his worries behind so he could instead dwell in the happiness that he was speaking to the only member of the twelve who had remained his idol through his entry to the group. "Anyway, are you busy? I'd like to talk to you.

 _Why does everyone want to talk to me today,_ Alibaba groaned inwardly. "Sure King Sinbad. What do you want to talk about?"

Sinbad led Alibaba through the halls back to the main floor of the palace. While Alibaba was worried he would run into his brother, he knew he wouldn't bother him if Sinbad was with him. As they walked through the halls they ignored the workers who made sure not to make eye contact. The servants knew better than to try and talk to any royalty they knew personally. "To be honest, I wanted to discuss what you said earlier today in the meeting."

"Oh, did you want me to get my brother?"

"No," Sinbad shook his head. "I wanted to talk to you about it. Your father told me how you used to live outside of the palace." Alibaba's joy ticked back a bit. He hadn't realized that his father had told Sinbad that much about him. He'd know they were close, but not that close.

"Yes, I did," he mumbled.

"Don't get depressed, I wasn't trying to insult you. I just meant you are one of the only ones who really knows about what life is like outside of the palace. I wanted to know if you believe that what the council decided to do would work." Alibaba decided not to mention that he hadn't actually been listening that much near the end. They'd continued talking about different ideas to get closer to the public. In truth he'd thought it was weird. Back at home if people wanted to get closer to others, they'd just talked to them. IN the palace, that wasn't an option. Why did their lives have to be so complicated?

"Well…We'll definitely have to find a way that more people from the twelve can be connected to the citizens. And not just say that they are, but actually get close on personal levels. What Titus suggested was good, but it's not going to do very good for too long. Now, but it's not a long term solution." After a moment of silence Alibaba asked, "What did they end up considering?"

Sinbad shrugged carelessly. "A few things. No one was really paying much attention. I don't think anyone's heart is really in it. They were considering holding more open parties with the citizens and royal parties, some kind of events where it's required for the royal members to come. I think someone suggested each member of the twelve would have to spend a year in the city? That was scrapped quickly, since it would reveal the person's identity."

With a long sigh Sinbad continued, but with a softer tone than the one he had before. "I hope you don't mind me saying this Alibaba, but I do miss king Rashid. He tried the hardest to get close to the public, even when it wasn't necessary. He wanted to be a man of the people…Always did…" Alibaba thought he noted something regretful in Sinbad's tone. When he offered no explanation however, Alibaba didn't question him.

"He even had a relationship with someone outside of the royal house," Alibaba muttered. "Maybe we can get one of the twelve to marry someone from the outside."

The idea made Sinbad throw his head back and laugh. "That sounds like something I'd like to see. Who do you think it would be?" Alibaba laughed, any worry he had dying away. It was so easy to relax around Sinbad, so easy to let your worries go. He doubted Sinbad had any problems with the public in his country. Even if they hardly knew him, who wouldn't want to follow him? He was amazing!

"Maybe Mira? She already has multiple husbands, right?" Sinbad snickered at the idea of someone trying to convince that women to marry someone she didn't want to. He pitied the poor soul who proposed the idea.

"Doubtful. How about that brother of yours? Are you hoping to get anymore family members lately?" Alibaba cringed at the thought of his brother marrying someone he would have considered 'less than worthy to sit in his presence.' The poor girl would be safer trying to conquer a dungeon.

Rolling his eyes Alibaba said, "I've already had enough surprise family members in the last few years. Since we're on the topic, what about you? Do you think you'd be willing to marry for the sake of the war?" Sinbad paused for a moment to think about what Alibaba had said. As he paused, Alibaba realized how silly his option had been. "Oh, I suppose that would be ridiculous. I mean, there is the prophecies to worry about."

Sinbad chuckled. "The scrolls of Solomon? Excuse me for doubting the validity of those things." With a quick look to the sky he saw that the sun was starting to set. "I suppose I should head back. Jafar won't be happy if I don't get any paperwork done today." Jafar. Was that the man with white hair, or was it another servant that was in his party?

Either way, Alibaba didn't want to stand in his way. "O-of course. It was very nice talking to you." Unsure of himself, he offered his hand.

Sinbad shook it without question. "It was my pleasure. If you ever need a friend in this crazy place, I'm more than willing." Alibaba felt like his brain was going to burst out of his head and hug Sinbad himself. The legendary Sinbad was saying he wanted to be friends with him?

"Yes! Yes, of course, I'd love to!" The two of them parted ways, Alibaba naively joyful at the new development in his life.

Sinbad walked away satisfied with having gained another useful ally.


	5. Prophecies of Solomon

Prophecies of Solomon

Two days earlier, Sinbad had thought everything was going great for him. He'd come into an allied country to make decisions that could go down for centuries. After that he'd made what he thought was going to be a useful ally in Alibaba of Balbadd. To make things better, he'd been able to sneak out and have some recreational fun with Queen Mira. Things had been looking like they were going to go great for Sinbad.

Until his world had plummeted.

"You need to get married."

"Eh?" Jafar had dragged Sinbad back to the Sindrian quarters to meet with Emporer Kouen and King Yamato of Kina. It was required to have the king of the country they were residing in to be present during any important discussions that would effect more than one country. That was Sinbad's first clue that things were going wrong. "You…You can't be serious Jafar. What for?"

"In order to get closer to the citizens, the council decided to show our respect for the citizens by allowing one of them to join the ranks of the royalty of the twelve rulers," Kouen answered for Jafar. "We thought the quickest way to show that in an emotional level would be through a marriage. It would be purely political of course, though I can't say the citizens would understand that since they haven't been told much about our policies." If they were trying to show they could be connected to the people better, Sinbad thought perhaps explaning their ways should be done BEFORE any kind of drastic action. "Jafar stood in for you at the meeting and agreed to the situation."

That was something Sinbad was not so willing to agree on. "Why was I not involved in this meeting? I'm the king of Sindria, not Jafar-No offense," he added quickly, but Jafar didn't bother.

"We were going to call you," Jafar muttered. "But you and the queen of Artemyira were nowhere to be found." Ah. That was why he'd heard so many people running around.

Shaking his head, Sinbad began pacing the room as the king of kou and Sinbad's assistant watched him cautiously. They aught to be careful. Sinbad felt like he was going to explode, and any sane person did not want to get caught in that crossfire. His limbs were trembling out of annoyance, confusion, frustration, the list could go on. "I can't believe this," he muttered angrily.

What made it worse? He knew he couldn't refuse. The councils word was law, even to it's own members. And with a war against the most mysterious continent in the known world, he knew they wouldn't allow him to weasel out of their solution because of his personal feelings. It was politics. Politics were not supposed to involve human emotions and feelings. But Sinbad didn't rule his country like that. He didn't rule his life like that. "W-Why can't someone else marry someone from the families of the twelve marry a citizen? All the members of the Balbadd's royal family is single, along with the Heliophat family. And Queen Serendine, Queen Mira, King Yamato, Emporer Kouen…"

As he listed off names, he realized just how many of the Twelve were still single. Conincidence?

Maybe.

"The family of Heliophat has been considering a marriage with the Magnustand family, so they cannot. Queen Mira was not there, but her subordinates insisted she already had too many husbands and that she didn't need another one. Emporer Kouen," he guestured to the king beside him, "Is already engaged. The council decided the marriage should not be the king of the country we are in because they wanted to show connection and alliances between different countries. The royal family of Balbadd…had too little experience as rulers to be given this kind of position. Other countries have traditions of only marrying people within their own country and would not accept the proposition. I decided to agree on your behalf because I thought it would be good for Sindria's reputation…As well as yours." The way that he glared at Sinbad made him wonder if he knew that Sinbad hadn't been alone before. Great. So it was revenge.

"I would be very grateful if I was consulted before agreeing that I would marry someone. What if I don't want to get married to the girl the council picks? What if I hate her?" He scrambled his head or any kind of excuse that the council would actually care about.

Unfortunately, Jafar was not on his side. "It doesn't have to be a polygamy styled marriage Sinbad. If you decide you don't like her or want to have other relationships you can. She can't object since she'd only be a part of the twelve thanks to you. The same rights we have wouldn't apply to her."

"And the council would not pick your wife for you," Kouen interrupted on Jafar's behalf. "You would be allowed to pick whoever you wanted to by whatever means, as long as they are not someone from the royal families or connected to the royal families, and they are a citizen of Kina." Yamato nodded, but Sinbad could see the man was having a hard time not laughing out loud. He wondered who exactly had suggested Sinbad as a candidate. Then decided he didn't have to.

Before Sinbad could call yamato out on it, Kouen continued. "Not to mention King Sinbad, this goes completely against the prophecy of Solomon. If you married someone from the country of Kina, it would prove the prophecy a lie."

Any arguments Sinbad had were whisked away like a tree in a tornado. No one wanted to prove another piece of the Prophecies of Solomon as lies than Sinbad did. It must have been one of the reasons Jafar agreed to the situation. The prophecies of Solomon were drawing to a close, the tales starting to match up with events of the time. Anyone who paid any attention to them knew that much. Sinbad had been discussing them with Alibaba not that long ago. But neither of them had believed that the councel would try and act against them. Most members of the councel were superstitious, some even thought it was dishonourable to try and fight a fate that was unavoidable. Sinbad was not one of those people. He wanted to fight fate, he didn't want anything that he hadn't chosen to dictate his way of life.

Another reason why the whole situation made Sinbad want to scream.

"I'll consider it," Sinbad relented, though he knew it wasn't the answer that they were looking for. Kouen and Jafar gave each other a look that Sinbad did not like.

Yamato frowned openly. "King Sinbad, I don't think this is something you get to think about. We need this done quick so,"

"I will have my answer by tonight," Sinbad interrupted. "If I decide the answer is no, I'm sure we'll be able to find another willing participant." Yamato gulped, knowing his position wasn't as safe as Jafar had claimed. "For now, I'm going to leave." Turning away he started towards the door.

Jafar hurried to block his path. "Where are you going?"

"For a walk," Sinbad told him. When Jafar glared at him he rolled his eyes. "Don't worry Jafar, I'll take off my mask. No one will recognize me. If I'm going to marry someone from this country, I should get to know the country a bit more, shouldn't I?" No one responded. Slowly, Jafar moved out of his path so Sinbad could walked past. The door slammed behind him with a loud bang.

"Well," Kouen huffed. "That went well." Yamato shrugged, leaning back in his chair to stare at the ceiling in boredom. Jafar on the other hand turned to the other king with caution.

"King Kouen…I understand the reasons why Sinbad was chosen to do this but…Personally, I don't want to tempt fate. You know the prophecy of Solomon said,"

"Of course I know what they say," Kouen interrupted. "I've spent years studying every word of them, and I know what part you are worried about. The old prophecy of Solomon had a verse that said the royal line of Sindria and the line of my uncle would come together to start the golden age of the twelve nations. But the only children my uncle had died in the fire started by a rebellion of the people. His three sons and only daughter were buried years ago. The verse must have been misinterpreted, or it isn't part of the prophecy like we thought. The line of Hakuto is dead. There is no one who can fufill that prophecy anymore."

…

* * *

"It's good for the twelve Sinbad, it's good for your reputation Sinbad, why don't you just give up on life Sinbad?" Sinbad mumbled to himself mimicking Jafars voice and making it much higher than it was. Luckily no one around him heard what he said. They couldn't tell that they were in the presence of a king.

Not when his mask was missing.

He'd changed his clothes to. Instead of his royal robes and jewlerry, he wore a dark purple, black, gold and white traveling outfit gifted to him by the prince of Heliophat so he could travel without being discovered. The wind directly on his face made him shiver and he had to constantly remind himself it was alright his mask wasn't on. He felt far to exposed without it, but at the same time felt much safer. Unlike when he'd walked through town wearing his mask surrounded by servants and soldiers, no one paid him any attention. They let him pass without so much as a glance in his direction, no one questioning the stranger walking through their streets. The only looks he got were the ones of interst from a few girls that stared as he walked then giggled once he'd left.

While the girls were very lovely, Sinbad nearly had a heart attack imagining living the rest of his life with one of them.

"Why should I have to marry some stranger for the sake of a different country," Sinbad grumbled. "I don't even live here!"

The councel shouldn't have even risked him marrying anyone! While everyone knew that the children had died in the fire, wasn't it possible he'd had another child? No, he knew what hakuto had been like. That man had believed the prophecies to a point, and would never risk anything that could interfer with them. But Sinbad didn't want to get married! That way the prophecies wouldn't have a chance of coming true! No, he knew that his excuse wouldn't hold that much weight in a meeting. As far as the kings and queens were concerned, any child of Hakuto had died in the fire, and any chance of that line of the prophecy coming true was gone. Most of them just believed they'd misinterpreted it. Sinbad didn't really care. He just didn't want to get married!

At least when he walked no one noticed him. While he loved being the centre of attention, he believed people often took for granted the gift of not being noticed.

The best part about not being noticed?

He could notice everything else.

"Get back here you brat!" Sinbad barely managed to avoid falling on his butt while avoiding a young child child running for their life from a large man who struggled to take more than five steps. The child sprinted forward, her honey brown eyes darting around as she searched for an exit. Sinbad couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a chase that wasn't between a monster and a general. When he ran away from Jafar didn't count.

Purely for entertainment, Sinbad decided to trail along behind them. Keeping a few steps behind, he watched curiously as the girl was finally snatched up by the man kicking and screaming. The man had to take a few minutes to catch his breath before yelling, and even then every word took effort. "You...Child…Don't…steal…from…me…gasp!"

"I didn't steal from you!" The young girl yelled, kicking and struggling to pull her arm out of his hand.

Even though every movement was a struggle, he somehow managed not to let go. "You broke my wine glasses! How are you planning on paying for them, huh?"

"It was an accident!" She explained. The sand was kicked up with every step she took, messing up her already dirty dress and his dark red pants. "You were the one who pushed me over!"

"Because my barrel of wine was falling! You were still the one who broke my property! Do you have the money to pay for it or not?" Sinbad honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd heard someone fight about damaged property that wasn't yelling at him specifically. And money was never the issue, it was always 'you broke something again?' 'Did you get drunk for the third time this week?' That last one was mostly complaining from Jafar or approval from Sharkkon.

Either way, Sinbad thought his day would be more interesting (And more of a distraction to his own problems) If he intervened. Leaving his bubble of privacy, he krept up behind the man who smelled more like wine than Sinbad did. Just as he was about to tap him on the shoulder a body whisked past him so quickly his hair flew in his face. Sputtering, he pulled it out of his face to get a better look at the intruder.

A women with long, dark hair and bright blue eyes snatched the girl away from the man in a flurry. "Marga, there you are! I told you not to leave the group!" As she turned her attention to the old man, Sinbad gave her a once over. She was fairly tall, not as tall as him of course. A bit muscular, but more on the skinny side. Her skin was pale like she hadn't seen the sun in a while, or perhaps she was more nervous than her tone revealed her to be. There were various scars on her exposed arms and legs, the rest hidden by a plain pink dress that went down to her ankles and covered her shoulders. Not the most beautiful girl he'd seen in his lifetime, but certainly a very pretty one.

A pretty girl huh?

That was definitely the distraction he needed.

The younger girl, Marga, argued back, "But the boys were being mean! One of them pulled my hair!" the woman ignored her so she could talk to the man whose face had started turning red with anger. Sinbad noticed the subtle gesture of her putting both hands on the girl's shoulders protectively.

"Sir, I am so sorry for whatever Marga here has done."

"She broke my wine glasses," He shouted. Spit went flying with every word and Marga flinched to try and get away. The woman held her in place.

"And I'm very sorry about that," she pleaded patiently. "I'm sure mother will pay for the glasses that were broken as soon as you'd like."

Instead of taking the women's proposal, the man groaned loudly. "Oh great, you're kids from the orphanage downtown. There's no way you can pay for my expensive glasses! What are you going to do huh? You'd better do something, or I'm calling the authorities." Sinbad decided to take that as his invitation to join in.

Besides, he technically was the authority.

"There isn't any need for that," he interrupted, all three of them turning to stare at the intruder. The man had small dark eyes that reminded Sinbad of beans. The young girl had innocent wide honey brown eyes that said she had nothing to hide. The other women had bright blue eyes that were just as bright as they were icy and unwelcoming. And interesting contrast, but not the first time he'd seen it. Stepping around the old man he made their happy little group into a triangle. "We don't need to make a fuss over just a few pieces of broken glass. Anything can be replaced."

Just like he was supposed to, the man didn't give Sinbad more than a second glance. "Who are you supposed to be? You know what, nevermind, I don't care." He waved his hand lazily through the air. "Whoever you are, mind yoru own business! This girl has broken my property and I intend to get a full refund!" He tried to dismiss Sinbad completely, but with another step he was able to get in the middle of the two parties.

"I think we can allow this little thing to pass," Sinbad directed the conversation to him, away from the young girl. "If you want, I can ask my friend from the Twelve to come and pay for whatever it was she broke."

Instantly the man's struggling halted. His dark beedy eyes focused on Sinbad, the beads of sweat on his shiny forehead dripping down to his cheeks. "You…You know someone of the twelve?"

It took all his strength not to hide a smirk. He loved pulling the 'twelve' card. Eitehr people would do whatever he wanted, which was often, or they wouldn't believe him and he would delight in finding creative ways to prove them wrong while maintaining his secret. Jafar always told him to stop and to be more careful. Sinbad just kept on taking risks. "You could say we've…met once or twice."

Like the majority, his demenar changed instantly. Spinning on his heels he bowed so low his nose almost touched the ground. "M-m-my deepest apologies sir, I meant no disrespect of course. I-It was just this girl, she broke my property and,"

"I'm sure the people at the palace will be able to pay for it. Just send us the bill mr…ah…"

"Budal. I own a wine shop," he added hastily, probably trying to sell his business to him. "We have some of the finest wines in the city, better than anything seen around all of Kina,"

Desperate not to hear any sales pitches, Sinbad cut him off quickly. "That sounds fine. I'll send you the money as soon as I get the chance. I suppose you should get back to running that shop now, right?" The man nodded quickly. Thankfully, with every bow of apology and thanks, he took another step backwards until he was hurrying away to continue on his job as well as avoid an embarrassing situation. Turning back Sinbad smiled at the woman, already anticipating her reaction and planning the coming evening out in his head. He wondered if she knew any local diners around.

"You shouldn't have done that." Sinbad blinked. He had not expected that response.

"Done what?"

"Pretended to know one of the twelve. If they ever found out, I don't know what they'd do about people who use their identities to their own advantage." Sinbad hadn't realized the people of Kina were so afraid of their rulers that they believed their rulers were watching their every move.

Did they really think they had that much time on their hands?

"But," Hakuei continued with a small smile. "Thank you for saving me and my friend. That was very generous of you, and we can't thank you enough." She gave a polite bow, and nudged the younger girl to follow her. But the girl didn't move. Instead she stared up at Sinbad with a wide eyed wonder.

"Do you really know one of the twelve?" The girl blurted. "That's so cool! Isn't that cool Hakuei?" Sinbad chuckled. Cool. That was exactly their goal. To be called 'cool' by a child.

Hakuei quickly shushed her before she could continue. "No Marga, he obviously doesn't know one of the twelve. He was just trying to scare Budal away."

The girl deflated instantly. "Oh." Hakuei glared at her and Sinbad almost wished he could reveal his secret identity just to make the girl feel better.

That idea was set aside when the woman named Hakuei focused on him. "I don't think I've seen you around before," She noted. "Are you new in town? Or do you live further into the city?" A cover story. Sinbad loved that part. He could be as detailed or as vague as he wanted and thanks to his good acting and millions of travels around countries, he would always get away with it.

"I'm just a travelor," Sinbad told her off the top of his head. "Seeing the sights, learning about everyone. I just came down here from Heliophat after a job with some villagers."

"Oh? What do you do?" her voice was kind, but held a bit of skepticism. He wondered if he really was as convincing as he thought.

"I…write things," Sinbad quickly decided. "Sometimes translate, write stories, write letters, whatever needs to be done." Hakuei nodded, still not looking completely convinced, but she seemed too relieved to really argue.

"Well Mr. Writer," She held out her hand to him with a genuine smile on her face. "Thank you once again. My name is Hakuei, and you are…"

Darn. He always forgot that part.

"My name…" Sinbad hesitated. Did the people of their country know the names of the twelve? Hakuei tipped her head to the side expectantly while Sinbad wracked his brain for an answer. He had to think of a fake name. Great. He wouldn't have been out there if the battle discussions hadn't taken a turn towards the people. Why had he let Alibaba speak? He could have waited and talked to one of them in private or-

"Sir?"

"Alibaba," Sinbad blurted before he knew what he was saying. "My…my name is Alibaba. But my friends call me Ali."


	6. Assasination Attempt

Assasination Atempt

"Titus?" The younger male sighed.

"Titus, this is unprofessional."

For some odd reason, the man didn't seem to care.

Titus glanced out the window as his tutor tried to force him to listen to his strategy studies. They were in a private study room in the west quarter of the palace, the guest residence they shared with the residents from Heliophat. At the moment Titus stared out the window watching a foreign prince, perhaps his name was Sharkkon, try and flirt with some of the servants of Kina. He didn't really care for the flirting, but he watched enviously as the prince spent time with the servants and members of the palace as easily as he would talk with a member of the court. Actually, it must have been easier. Titus wasn't sure.

What he would give to be able to speak to people who didn't want to talk about politics all day.

"Sir Titus!" it was only after the shout that Titus jumped. Startled, he turned to his tutor who had a frown that was wickeder than a mother bear would give when someone attacked her cubs. "Really sir, you must pay attention! If you plan to take the seat in the twelve for Laem, you must know battle strategies! Do you not want to prove yourself in the war?" _No,_ Titus thought, but didn't dare say out loud.

Titus was considered a bit of an oddball in the society of the twelve. He hated the masks and everything about them. He thought they were more of a nuisance than tradition and protection. Leading armies to war against a country they knew nothing about sounded insanity to him, not brilliance. Titus wanted to talk to them, not invade. More than that, he was bored of his life of constant routines, following orders, giving orders and watching every word in case someone heard the wrong thing. His life felt like a golden statue had been put on display for the world to see but he wasn't allowed to come to the grand revealing. The world had played a cruel joke on him, and he wasn't laughing.

But that didn't mean he wasn't trying. When his mother, the previous ruler, Scherhazade, had recommended him for rule, he had a chance to make thins different. Of course there was nothing he could do about the rules of the twelve unless he wanted to start an internal war. As for the rules in Reim however, he had the chance to change those. Maybe he could actually meet people who didn't want to discuss where they should attack the Dark Continent from, or why King Solomon of the past was a greater leader than his father before him. Maybe he could talk about something ordinary.

That was why he was so excited for the vote. Hardly anyone in his council listened to him, all favouring Nerva for following tradition and keeping the law the same. Titus knew his only chance at changing anything would be with the help of the people.

All he needed to do was convince them things needed to be changed.

"Can't I go outside the palace," Titus begged for what must have been the millionth time. "If only for a few minutes. I just want to see what it looks like!"

As always, his tutor sighed and shook his head. "Lord Titus, you know as a future leader of Reim, you cannot soil your reputation by talking to commoners and walking through such places. You must remain in places of royalty, and only consult with members of high society." Titus hated that word. 'High society.' What did that mean? Who really cared that much?

As his teacher went on, Titus's gaze rolled over to the window. Underneath them was the garden part of the palace, surrounded by servants freshening up the flowers and trimming the trees. Over in the corner, by a little pond that had brightly coloured fish in it, was Prince Sharkkon of Heliophat. He was leaned back against a rock with three servant girls around him, all listening to his every word with awe. Why was he allowed to go and goof off with the servants when Titus got in trouble for just saying hi to one?

Actually, Titus could use that.

"Thank you for your time. I think I'll end our lesson early today."

"Sir Titus, we haven't finished,"

"I'm just going to go talk to prince Sharkkon," Titus interrupted. "Um…consult with other members of the twelve. That's good for me, right?" The tutor didn't comment, annoyed that his own words were being used against him. He should have been proud. It meant Titus was actually learning something.

Before he could think of a problem, Titus sprinted out the doors and towards the courtyard. When he got there, Sharrkon was still talking to the three girls. The only difference was they had moved closer, and Sharkkon was smiling a little wider. Perhaps Titus should have taken that as a sign to not bother him.

He didn't. "Prince Sharkkon!" All four heads turned to face the innocent prince waving to them with a bright smile on his face. Sharkkon waved back, then excused himself from the three girls. Each of them got up and went on their ways. Sharrkon continued smiling as they left, ignoring Titus until he was right next to him. After they were all out of sight, Sharkkon glared daggers at him.

"Man, what the heck?"

Titus drew back, panic striking through him. "I-uh,"

"I was flirting with those girls! If I had only a few more minutes, I could have convinced all of them to come have a drink with me! Gosh, bad timing man!" He groaned loudly, but continued to walk with him. Quickly Titus relaxed when he realized the prince wasn't that mad. At least, not as mad as he thought. Shaking his head, Sharkkon gave in. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Nothing really," Titus told him. "I just wanted an excuse to get out of my tutoring. Everyone wants to talk about battle strategies."

Sharkkon laughed abruptly. "Oh gosh, you have no idea. My brother has already started building an army and making some weapons. Seriously, this is going to be the war that will go on for centuries." The idea made Titus's skin crawl. A war for centuries? He didn't think he would manage in a war that lasted a week.

"I…thought the twelve had ordered everyone to hold off building their armies until we gave the call for war."

The prince froze, realizing that he had said something he shouldn't have. "I…Yeah, of course not. My brother just likes to be prepared is all. He hasn't started training anyone yet, just finding out how many people we have." Titus decided to let it go. He didn't want to start a fight just then. But he held onto the information that the Twelve weren't as open with each other as they pretended to be. He'd have to remember that if he became a ruler. "But enough about that," Sharkkon hurried, pushing the conversation to the side. "Let's talk about something else. There's lots of stuff going on besides the upcoming war."

 _Finally_ Titus relaxed. _At least someone doesn't want to talk about different ways to trap people in a fire of their own destruction._ "Well, what do you think about the ways some countries are trying to get closer to the people with?" For a moment Sharkkon's face was blank as he tried to remember what he meant. Than it lit up like a spark of a flame.

"Oh yeah. You're holding an election in your country right? Good luck man, you got my vote."

"Thanks," He said, ignoring the fact that Sharkkon couldn't actually vote outside of his country. "But what about the other strategies? Do you think the marriage will go well?" Instead of giving him an answer, Sharkkon snorted. "Do you think it won't go well?" Again, all Titus did was make Sharkkon laugh harder.

"King Sinbad getting married? There's no way he's going to go along with it. That guy never wants to get married, he lives for the chase!" That made Sharkkon laugh, but Titus was busy trying to decide what Sinbad could have been chasing. Rabbits? He didn't take Sinbad for the hunting type. "Besides, while it doesn't seem like it too much, Sinbad's a loyal guy. He'd never cheat on someone he was married to, even if he hated their guts. He doesn't want to get married, because that means that he'd have to live up to his vows. Who'd want to do that?"

"Your brother will, soon," Titus replied. "Is there not a marriage alliance being made between your country and Magnustand?" For a moment Sharkkon's confidence was bottled up at sent aside for him to mull over Titus's words silently. Titus waited patiently, walking through the garden at a slow pace to allow Sharkkon to gather his thoughts. Fragrances of flowers circled through the air, and Titus breathed them in heavily. It was one of the first, and most likely last times he would get to enjoy a simple walk between a prince of another country where the only form of politics they were discussing were marriage opinions.

Why couldn't he have friends who wanted to discuss something that wouldn't impact the lives of hundreds? Maybe someone would want to talk about cats.

Begrudgingly, he answered. "Yeah," was his mumbled reply.

Titus hid a smirk as he watched him out of the corner of his eye. "What, are you not looking forward to having princess Yamuriha join your family? I've heard she already thinks of you as a younger brother." Actually, her specific words had been annoying younger brother, but he decided not to mention that.

Sharkkon grunted again. "I've never once thought of her as a sister." Was it his imagination, or was Sharkkon looking a little ill?

"Are you alright prince Sharkkon? Do you not want your brother to marry someone?"

But instead of a heartfelt response, Sharkkon let out a laugh. "Pff. W-what, no! Why should I care who they marry, it's none of my business. It doesn't bother me at all, princess yamu can go and marry whoever she wants." He continued to laugh, but Titus noticed that his skin still turned a sickly shade of green.

"You meant your brother."

"What? Yeah, of course I was talking about my brother. Who else would I be talking about?" Titus opened his mouth to answer, but decided not to. Best not to make any enemies.

After talking for a bit longer, both of them decided it was time to eat something other than their words. Passing through the hallways they headed over to the kitchen, hoping they would find something to eat. Titus pretended to ignore the bows and nervous glances everyone gave them as they passed by. He was used to servants watching their words and hiding conversations whenever he walked through. Just once he wished people would be more open with him. Even as Sharkkon laughed and joked about how much trouble his brother was going to be in, he knew he wasn't telling Titus the whole truth. No one ever told him the whole truth.

Why couldn't Titus just have one honest friend?

His sigh was interrupted by a scream.

Both princes spun around in the direction they'd come from. An elder women ran through the halls, clutching her arms around her chest like she couldn't breathe. Half her face was concealed by a plain white and black mask, but her body shaking out of control. Sharkkon snapped to attention, grabbing the women by the shoulders before she could hurt herself. "Ma'am, what's wrong? What happened?" The woman's eyes widened behind the mask when she recognized a heliophatt's snakeskin mask covering half his face and Titus's own as he ran over.

Normally that would have been enough to send her to her knees and apologizing instantly, but the women was to shock to do anything other than fall to her knees. "There…A man…so fast…no mask…" The last one caught Titus's interest.

"No mask?" Both the princes shot each other a look. Had someone lost their mask? Even if it was a servant, that was extreme.

"P-pink hair…."

"Pardon?"

They were interrupted by more screaming. Hordes of servants ran through the hall away from where the woman had come. Titus felt his heart pounding in his chest. He'd never seen the halls of a palace so filled with life. It must have been someone very important who had lost their mask.

A queen or king perhaps?

"Titus, come one!" Snapping out of his trance Titus dashed after Sharkkon who had already started where the crowd had run from. He spotted Sharkkon had already grabbed one of his sword, so Titus grabbed his staff. Might as well go in prepared, even if he wasn't the best fighter.

They reached what used to be one of the doujo's. The left wall had been demolished, the two connecting walls half crumpled with weapons and bricks littering the land. The inside was exposed, revealing a handful of soldiers shaking with their swords in hand. Another handful unconscious on the ground or struggling to move. Both Titus and Sharkkon had to stop and stare. They'd seen that doujo standing on its own easily just the day before. Sharkkon had been training in there. What could have torn it down in only a few minutes?

"P-Prince Sharkkon!" He turned to face a soldier lying in the rubble. His mask was still intact, but his right leg and abdomen were damaged. The man gasped, a trickle of blood coughing out with every breath. Out of the corner of his eye, Titus could see he wasn't the only injured soldier. Men lay on the ground covered in blood, bones crushed beyond repair and body parts deformed in ways that made his stomach curl. It was as if Titus was just the audience to a play. He couldn't move. It all looked so real, but he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He'd never seen that kind of bloodshed before. It felt like it was real, but it shouldn't have happened.

What was happening?

Sharkkon didn't give himself the luxury of surprise. "What's going on?" He demanded to the soldiers. "Who did this? Was it a king or queen?" It sickened Titus's heart to think one of their own would do so much just because of their mask, but at the same time he didn't rule it out. They had the power and the means. All they needed was the reason.

"N-no!" The soldier forced out while Titus exhaled in relief. "I-it was a man. O-over there!" With his good arm, he pointed to where the few remaining soldiers stood, trying desperately to maintain their ground. "W-we believe he's here for one of the twelve sir."

An assassin?

No, the screams weren't for someone who had lost their mask. It was for an intruder.

That sounded even more absurd.

"An Assassin? How did he get in here?" Sharkkon demanded. "How did one person do all this?" More importantly, who would dare to enter the compounds belonging to one of the twelve? Titus had never before witnessed and assassination attempt, but he'd heard of them in stories.

"He…he's not human," The soldier gasped. For a moment he had a coughing fit, trying to clear the blood from his throat. "He said he's from the…Dark Continent."

The Dark Continent?

No.

That was impossible.

How?

Moving past the solder, Sharkkon and Titus rummaged through the rubble to hurry to the soldiers sides. All soldiers who were still standing moved out of their way immediately, allowing the two of them to get to the centre. He couldn't believe such a small force was the only power left standing.

Then he saw the man in the middle.

He was huge. Probably more than six feet tall, and big enough to be twice the size of Titus, easy. He wore plain white clothes with leather shoes and a belt. What was very odd was the bright red hair cut short and the strangely formed eyes that seemed to see through anything. Titus had never seen eyes like that.

"Who are you?" Sharkkon exclaimed, snatching his sword from his belt. "What are you?" The man didn't speak. Titus had never seen someone with such intense eyes that could bore through your soul. Just looking at the man made him shiver.

But it also intrigued him.

Against his better judgment, he stepped forward. "Sir Titus, don't move!"

"What's your name?" He asked him quietly. The man must have had good hearing, for he answered with no problem.

"My name is Masrur," The man replied. "You are of the twelve?"

Wisely, Sharkkon didn't reply. Since he wasn't actually part of the twelve, it would be the same as a rebellion to declare he was. "I am one of the twelve," Titus spoke up, stepping closer again. The dark glare sent chills up his spine, but he refused to back down. He was going to be a ruler of a nation. He would not be intimidated by one man. Never again. "What do you want?"

For a moment, the man didn't reply. He scanned the area, as if he only just noticed what he had done. Gesturing to the crowd, he addressed Titus alone. "This is a warning," he explained. "Stay out of the dark Continent. Or you will be sorry."

"Sorry?"

Before he could get an answer, the man jumped. And when he jumped, he jumped high. He practically was launched into the air, so high up that Titus got the sun in his eyes watching him. "Hey, get back here!" Sharrkon threw his sword at him. It sliced the man's boot, but other than that there was no damage. He nearly crashed down on the roof, earning the screams of more oncoming servants. "Follow him!" Sharkkon ordered, and immediately any leftover soldiers hurried away. It was practically effortless as the man jumped from roof to roof until he was out of the palace. And out of their reach.

That was the first time Titus had ever seen a man from the Dark Continent.

But he had the feeling it wouldn't be the last.


	7. The Incident

The incident

Marga couldn't decide if she was the luckiest girl alive, or the unluckiest.

Probably both.

Ali followed the two women through the streets to their home. At first Marga had been relieved that Hakuei and the stranger had helped save her from the mean man who sold the funny drinks. But then Hakuei had offered the stranger to come with them back to the orphanage for a meal since the man had nowhere else to go. That meant there would be less food for her. To make it worse, what was supposed to be a fun day of running through the streets turned into her being forced to walk along with adults having boring conversations. Why did adults always want to talk when there were so many more exciting things to do? Like go exploring for treasure, or making your own masks out of clay.

She did admit however that she did find the stranger interesting. Or maybe he was just a weirdo. When they walked through the streets he almost ran into a lot of people. When Hakuei asked why hadn't moved he said that usually people moved for him. Then later he'd scratched his face and looked like he'd had a heart attack. It took three minutes until Hakuei was able to calm him down and convince him to keep walking. Later he'd insisted he'd just forgotten something small and not to worry about it. What a weirdo.

At first she had been excited when he said he knew the twelve. It seemed like a dream come true. But then Hakuei had said that he had been lying. It was as if someone had popped a bubble and her excitement had flew out and escaped into the open air. For the rest of the walk she was grumpy, shuffling her feet while struggling to keep up to the two adults. Her honey brown eyes were stuck on her feet, not looking up except to avoid running into someone. The only reason she heard anything they said was because she had no other choice. If she stopped listening, she would lose them, and in turn lose her way back to the house.

"Marga, please lift your feet up off the ground."

There were some parts that made Marga want to ignore her completely.

Against her will she took proper steps while the two adults slowed their pace so she could keep up. Marga was confused when Mr. Ali kept moving closer to Hakuei. He had a nice smile on his face but Marga felt it was one she couldn't trust. Every so often he'd drop in a complement or two. "It's lucky I ran into someone so beautiful on my way through town, or else I'd just be wandering the streets forever." Marga wondered if he meant Hakuei or her.

Either way, Hakuei's response was a plain smile. "Well it's a good thing you did. This town is very large and someone unfamiliar to it could get lost in here." The man frowned at her response, though Marga didn't understand why. He'd just said he was lucky, why would he be sad?

"So…your name is Hakuei, right?" He asked, sounding like he hadn't really forgotten. "Any last name with that?"

She shook her head. "No. It's just Hakuei. No last name." For a moment the man looked puzzled, but quickly recovered himself.

"I see. I don't suppose there's a Mr. Hakuei in your life then?" Hakuei paused, ignoring Marga as she ran into her legs. It took her a moment to analyze his words and collect herself, but the man just waited patiently with a confident smile on his face. One that never seemed to go away. Marga wished she could be as confident as he was all the time.

Hakuei, who stumbled very often and only spoke up every so often, seemed to be the closest Marga would ever get. "That's quite a bold question, don't you think?"

Without even a shimmer of regret or embarrassment, the man smiled again. "Oh, I'm sorry if I bothered you. Sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me, you know?" Hakuei didn't reply, resuming her walk to lead the group back to her home. Ali was insistent however. "I'd take it there isn't any man in your life then?" Marga didn't understand why that would matter. Hakuei knew many boys, and many girls. What did it matter what the gender was.

Thanks to a quick glance Marga noticed a light smirk grace Hakuei's expression. "Actually yes, there is." Ali froze so quickly Marga could have believed he'd been turned into a statue. There was that smug smile on Hakuei's face as they reached the orphanage. "Ah! There he is now!" Both Ali and Marga looked up to see the familiar, dark haired boy who was busy fixing a window. Marga felt her cheeks burn at the memory of her and the other kids playing ball. If it hadn't been for Hakuei, Fatima would have had all their heads.

"Hakuryuu!" The boy looked up from his work obliviously as the group walked over to him.

With a cautious eye Hakuryuu surveyed the stranger that followed them. "Hello sister. Who…is this?" There was a pause when Ali gasped with relief when he called her sister. Then another one when he shot Hakuei a glare. Hakuei didn't reply, just continued to smile happily. Perhaps a little too happy.

Ali offered his hand to Hakuryuu with a smile. "Hi, my name is Si-Alibaba. But you can call me Ali." Hakuryuu looked skeptical, but slowly shook his hand as well.

"I'm Hakuryuu, Hakuei's younger brother. How do you…"

Finally Marga saw an opportunity to say something. "He saved me from a bad man in the streets today! The one who sells the nasty drinks that make people smell funny." Hakuryuu's face turned a little red at the explanation.

His sister remained neutral. "After he helped us out I asked if he wanted to come here for dinner." Hakuryuu nodded, but still didn't take his eyes off Ali. Marga thought he wasn't very good at hiding it. But if Ali did notice, he didn't comment.

"Well that sounds fine," Hakuryuu said out loud. But when he turned to Hakuei, he whispered so that even if the other two could hear, they would know that he wasn't talking to them. "But are you sure that's a good idea? Fatima's already,"

"Fatima doesn't get to decide all that happens in the orphanage," Hakuei interrupted loudly, breaking their private conversation. "And I'm sure mother would love to have some company. Besides, it's only one meal. We do owe him anyway." Turning to Marga Hakuei suggested, "Marga, why don't you go show Ali around the house? I'm going to see if they need any help in the kitchen."

"Okay," Marga nodded, grabbing Ali's hand. "Come on Ali. I'll show you my treasure box!"

With a skip and a tug she led the unwilling guest away from his preferred company. Ali trailed behind Marga through the front doors and in the main hall. There were a few children playing by the stairs who looked up at the stranger with wide-eyes wonder. The attention just made Marga puff out her chest and walk a little prouder. "Let's go faster Ali! I want to show you my treasures! They're hidden in my room, but you can't tell anyone."

Ali chuckled to himself. "Not the type of female companionship I was looking for, but alright."

Marga didn't know what that meant, but decided to go along with it. Running past the numerous doors she stopped at her own. It wasn't technically hers since she had to share it with three other girls. Lucky for her most of them were older and liked to go and hang out in the city during the day. She wasn't sure if they would even come back for dinner.

Slipping inside, she hurried to her bed in the corner. "It's right under here, okay? You can't tell anyone, promise?"

Ali smirked, but nodded. "I promise."

"Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

After Marga was convinced, she crawled under the bed. Removing one of the floor panels, she pulled out a small brown box and pushed it outside. "There," She huffed once she'd squeezed out. "Open it!" Sinbad tried to hide his amusement as he unlatched the top and slipped it off.

Inside was a few small items. There was something that looked like a blue rock, but had been cut in half. Another was a drawing of a red flower, something she probably made herself. They were all just little trinkets that any child would have kept under their bed and would end up throwing out in years to come.

But he paused when he noticed the mask.

It wasn't near as artistic as the ones that the members of the twelve would wear. There was no seal around the edges to show off its magic. The materials weren't professional or detailed at all. It was made of some kind of paper, cut to fit around the eyes but one eye hole was too small. White paint covered it and it had sloppy pink dots on the bottom. A small, dried out flower had been attached to the right hand corner, a few petals fallen off already. Two pieces of old string were attached to each side so they could tie around a head. The mask had to be the worst piece of art Ali had ever seen, not that he'd say out loud. But Marga's face lit up like the sun rising in the morning the minute she saw it.

"This one is my prized possession," Marga explained, immediately going for the mask and pulling it out. "It's a mask, like the ones that the people around the twelve wear? I tried to make one, but it doesn't look exactly like theirs did," She huffed, remembering a few nights before.

Under his breath, Ali chuckled. "Just a little different."

He hadn't meant for Marga to hear, but the young girl exclaimed. "I know! I wish mine looked exactly like one of theirs. I love this one a lot, but to have a mask from the twelve would mean I could talk to people of the twelve! Wouldn't that be amazing?" With a sigh of bliss she fell onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The blank vision allowed her mind to wander as it had many times before. Ali watched her actions with more intensity than he had before. Her skin crawled when she realized he was watching her every move. And she didn't like the look on his face. Like everything had a hidden meaning. "What? What are you thinking Mr. Ali?"

Still keeping a close eye on her, he directed the conversation to a different topic. "Do you love the twelve that much?"

She was surprised it was even a question. "Of course! They are amazing, they are legends!" energy rushed through her as she babbled on about her obsession. "People say that they have powers that we couldn't even imagine, that nearly every member of the twelve has conquered a dungeon and gained a mysterious power! No one can hold them back, and there is not a force alive that could ever fight against them. I wish I could meet some or wear a mask like theirs. That sounds like a dream come true!" Ali smirked to himself.

"Maybe Jafar's idea isn't going to be necessary after all." Marga didn't hear him, too lost in her own fantasies.

"I'm sure those people know just about everything that the world could tell them. I bet they have the power to do anything they want!" The last comment made Ali freeze. The humor in his face vanished while he struggled to maintain his composure. Marga hesitated when she saw his reaction. Had she said something wrong? It looked like she had offended him somehow. She hadn't meant to. But her new friend's golden eyes wouldn't meet her's as he stared at the small, fragile mask in her hands.

"The power to do anything you say?"

The moment ended when they heard a scream from down the hall. "You selfish idiot, how dare you invite someone into mothers home without asking her first?" Both Marga and Ali jumped to their feet at the noise. From the sound of other footsteps rushing through the halls, they bet they weren't the only ones who heard either.

"Um," Marga mumbled. "Is he talking about you?"

In seconds they were out the door and standing above the scene with the others. Below them at the bottom of the stairs was Hakuei and Fatima as always. Most of the kids had gotten used to their constant squabbles over even the smallest disagreements. A few of Fatima's followers stood behind him as support, but even they knew not to get in the middle of the fight. Others kept a safe distance where they could watch the fight with anticipation or worry. Those in support of Fatima waited for him to destroy her and prove once again who really held the favour of 'mother.' The ones who supported Hakuei worried what would happen if Fatima lost his temper. Marga felt her heart stop when she saw the two of them matched against each other. Fatima was more than a head taller than Hakuei, while both of them stood strong and determined. Hakuei may have been a bit bigger and stronger than most women her age, but Fatima was definitely much stronger. And he knew it too.

Marga nearly fell over when Hakuryuu moved around her to rush to his sister's aid. Fatima hardly noticed him as he continued to yell, "You don't own this place girl! You can't just let anyone you want come in here! Don't you know that mother has been very tired lately? Who do you think you are to bother her with a guest she didn't know about?" He only paused momentarily when he noticed Hakuryuu standing at his sister's side. "Oh great. Your bodyguard's here now. Want to hand the fight over to him?"

Hakuryuu glowered like he couldn't have said the words better himself. Hakuei quickly pulled her brother away before he could start anything. "You and I both know that mother will not be bothered by one guest Fatima. There are so many people here that I doubt she will notice. If you want, we can take our meals and eat somewhere else so we don't bother her."

Fatima's hand twitched dangerously close to the knife at his belt. "You can't just come and take extra food!"

"We have more than enough food you idiot!" Hakuryuu yelled back, hands tightened into fists. "Stop making up problems just to get Hakuei in trouble!" Fatima cursed, but didn't argue. There was no point. Everyone knew how envious he was over anyone who got mothers attention when he wanted it. After Hakuei had become one of the workers at the orphanage, mother's attention had been divided between the two and Fatima's roles cut in half. It hadn't take long for them to realize that had been a huge mistake.

But one that mother would not have to answer to.

Again, Hakuei tried to calm her brother. "Hakuryuu, don't yell. He's only trying to start a fight."

"So what if I am?" Fatima purred, making his voice sound suspiciously like mothers, which sent chills down Marga's spine. "It's not like this brat could take a hit. And you always trying to look so composed and above everyone else needs to be brought down to size." Hakuryuu growled at that one. Even with Hakuei holding her brother back, Marga doubted she would be able to stop the oncoming slaughter.

"My my," Ali seized the attention in the blink of an eye. "Who knew my presence could cause this much strife?" All eyes turned to him as he descended the stairs. Marga marvelled with the grace and poise he demonstrated as he walked down the rickety stairs. Even as a stranger he walked like he was in control of everything going on. Immediately Marga's mind flashed back to when he said he knew someone of the twelve.

But she also remembered Hakuei saying he had been lying. _I can't get my hopes up!_ She told herself.

If Fatima noticed his posture, he didn't acknowledge it. "So this is the guest you invited into my house Hakuei?" He gave him a once-over, possibly ignoring the fact that he was a few inches taller than him. "Did the local restaurants not meet your standards? Have to come here and take our food?" Ali decided not to acknowledge that. Instead, when he got to the bottom of the stairs, his attention went straight to Hakuei.

"M'lady," Ali winked at her playfully. "Nice to know there's another 'man' in your life I didn't know about."

Hakuryuu looked confused. "Another?" Under his breath he whispered to Hakuei, "Are you seeing someone sister?"

"No," She told him. "He's talking about earlier when he asked if there was a man in my life and I said you."

"Oh." He paused. "I…don't think a sibling was what he meant to ask about sister."

"Oh, I know." Her smile was deadly still.

Ali seemed to be ignoring his wounded pride by facing up to Fatima. "My name is Ali, and I'm a traveller. Miss Hakuei offered me a place to eat. If that is too much trouble, I can leave. Don't get mad at her for doing something nice." Fatima looked stunned by Ali's understanding and sincerity. What he didn't notice was the dark glare that Ali had on his face. His expression said, 'don't mess with me boy, I've beaten up people twice the size of you.' Marga wondered if he had. Maybe in the other lands he'd fought giants!

Hakuei jumped in again, despite Hakuryuu trying to pull her away. "No, you don't have to do that Ali. You helped save Marga before, we are in your debt. I'm truly sorry about the way that Fatima is acting, but I assure you it won't be a problem." Ali looked skeptical at her suggestion.

Especially when Fatima's face started to turn red with rage. "You invited a stranger into our house just because he helped with one kid? You are such a selfish wrench!"

In a flash Ali spun to face Fatima again, eyes blazing. That time Fatima did notice and took a wise step back. "Never call her that again. Do you understand me?" Some of the children hiding with Marga shivered at the placid tone that was dipped in venom. She'd never heard anyone sound so calm yet disturbing at the same time.

His enemy was much older than the children hiding and wasn't as effected as they were. "W-who are you to tell me what to do? Go flirt somewhere else jerk, you don't belong here." Hakuei's cheeks turned pink at his suggestion, but Ali remained impassive.

That just made it even scarier. "You should apologize to her."

Fatima crossed his arms. "Are you going to make me?"

Then the man smiled. "Maybe."

Even Fatima was smart enough not to reply.

Luckily, he didn't have to. "My dears, what is all the commotion?" Everyone turned to face mother Madaura as she walked in. Two children held each hand, both tugging at her like she was their lifeline. A younger boy followed from behind with short red hair and a serious expression. While he was still a child he seemed to hold more authority than the rest. Madaura swooned slightly as she got closer. "Oh my sweet children, do try and keep the noise to a minimum please. Mother was just sleeping." Some of the children cooed their apologies and worried for their mother's health. The others knew the best choice was to not say anything. Mother glanced at the group of adults standing in the middle of the action. Her eyes swept over to the purple haired stranger standing tall and proud. "We have a guest! Well why didn't anyone tell me?"

In a snap the pride and anger vanished from Fatima's expression. "F-forgive me mother, I didn't mean to bother you. Hakuei," He practically spat her name, "Invited him here without your permission. I've been telling her,"

"I'm so sorry to have caused such a ruckus in your house ma'am," Ali interrupted while offering his hand. "When Hakuei invited me to have dinner with her, well, I just couldn't say no." Marga remembered Hakuei had said he could have a meal with everyone, not just her. Had she heard wrong? Taking Madaura's hand Ali kissed it gently, sending a never before seen blush of pleasant surprise up mothers face.

"And what a charming gentleman you are," She commented. Behind him, Fatima growled with visible envy. Ignoring him she turned to Hakuei. "Of course I don't mind you bringing in such a charming young man my dear Hakuei. Just remember for the future," She leaned closer, forcing Hakuei to meet her eyes. "To always ask my permission before doing such a thing. Okay sweetie?" The look she sent her would have made Marga melt on the spot.

Hakuei was able to at least stay still while under Madaura's gaze. "Yes Miss Madaura."

Slowly mother's eyes turned to Hakuryuu as if issuing a challenge. One that he did not meet. "Perfect. Well then, I suppose I'll see you all at dinner then." Some of the children, when they saw the fight was over, hurried to Madaura's side. Marga was the only one who went to the others. Luckily for them Fatima sent them a snarl then hurried over to mother's side. None of them spoke until the group had left and all the leftover children had returned to their rooms.

After a moment Hakuei turned to Ali sheepishly. "I am so sorry about that Ali. Fatima is very…protective of mother."

"I noticed," Ali murmured as his eyes trailed off after the crowd. Turning back to the others he gave Hakuei a smirk. "It's a good thing this place has such wonderful company to make up for the rest." Hakuei smiled politely, but nothing more. Marga was still in shock from when Fatima had tried to challenge Ali. Fatima was never afraid of anyone or anything.

Again she stared up at Ali with awe.

Hakuryuu was the first to change the subject before Ali could flirt with his sister in front of him. "I guess I should go help finish the cooking for tonight. Ali, do you know how to cook?" The question was so odd to him he couldn't find an answer.

"I've never cooked a thing in my entire life."

Everyone in the room stared at him. "What?"

Marga's mouth dropped in surprise. "You're soooo lucky! I have to help set the table every day!" Hakuei rolled her eyes at the younger girl while gently pushing her in the direction of the kitchen.

"You don't have to set the table every day Marga. For now, why don't you bring Ali to the dining room and keep him entertained? I'm going to go help Hakuryuu with dinner."

"NO!"

….

* * *

Despite Fatima's constant grumbling and worrying, there was more than enough food for everyone. And it was good, thanks to Hakuryuu finally convincing Hakuei he didn't need any help. The group all sat at the end of one of the three tables they had to fit all the children in the orphanage. Madaura had insisted that Ali sat at the end of the table on the left, because she always had to sit in the middle table and that way she could still talk to him. Other than Madaura, no one really wanted to sit with them though. The other two tables were crowded in and their table only had a few people sitting at the other end. Marga had overheard some people whispering that if Fatima didn't like him, they shouldn't either. Marga thought that was stupid. The man was nice! He even kept giving Hakuei complements, though she didn't understand why.

When she asked Hakuryuu he whispered back, "I think he's flirting with her."

"Why?"

"I think he's a player."

"What's a player?"

"Never mind. I'll tell you later."

They were interrupted by Ali after he finished eating a chicken leg. "Hakuryuu, this food is fantastic! Did you cook it all yourself?" His cheeks turned slightly pink at the complement but he nodded.

"N-not all by myself of course. I wouldn't have enough time to make it all." Ali shook his head, reaching over for a third slice of ham.

"You are an amazing cook. The last time I've eaten this well was when I went to the heliophatt kingdom."

Hakuei perked up at that. "Ah yes, you were saying you had traveled to many places."

"What do you do?" Hakuryuu asked.

Ali had to pause so he could finish his food. All three of them were impressed by how polite he was at the table. She didn't say it out loud, but Marga had always assumed people who traveled a lot would have bad table manners. Somehow the stranger was able to be more polite than Fatima when he was trying to impress Madaura. "I'm a writer."

Hakuryuu nodded politely. "That sounds interesting."

"What does?" The group turned to Fatima who sat at the other table behind Hakuryuu. Madaura also turned to face the group, curious to hear the stranger's conversation. Fatima didn't look as much interested in the conversation as desiring to take Ali down a few steps.

With dignity beyond anyone Marga had ever met he replied, "My job. I'm a writer and I travel around from place to place?"

"Oh yeah?" Fatima challenged, ignoring the glare that Hakuryuu sent his way. "Got any proof of that?"

"Fatima!" Hakuei tried to shush him. Surprising no one, it didn't work. Luckily for her Ali didn't seem bothered by the question at all. In fact, all it did was make him smile.

"I know about the Magnustand incident."

All adults in the room became silent. Even some of the younger children, people around Hakuryuu's age, glanced at each other nervously. Marga, who was stuck in between two adults, didn't make the same connections they had. Magnustand? Of course she knew what the country was. A few years ago it seemed like everyone had been talking about the country of Magnustand, but Marga had been too young to really understand what they had been saying. When she started to understand those things, it had been too late and no one was talking about it anymore. From their reactions, none of them had forgotten.

After Ali was sure he had shut Fatima up, his eyes slipped over to Hakuei as a smile graced his features. "Do you want to know what happened?" Hakuei didn't reply. Maybe it was because she was too shocked that he could know anything to begin with. Or maybe she didn't want to admit her own curiosity.

Marga however had no such shame. "Yeah, tell us! What happened in Magnustand?" Hakuryuu nodded eagerly in encouragement. Fatima turned to Madaura for her input before giving his. The elder women waited impatiently to hear the story that they had only heard rumors about. A few older children had started leaning in so they could hear, which gathered the attention of the others. It didn't take long for everyone to be at least giving half their attention to Ali. The stranger had no problem being the centre of attention. He seemed accustomed to it. Marga guessed it was because he traveled a lot so was often a stranger.

Ali leaned in closer to his table, creating the allusion that he was only speaking to them. It didn't take a genius to notice the others moving closer so they could hear him. Even Madaura had turned away from her children to pay undivided attention. He held the board, he was in control. And he knew it to.

With the voice of a storyteller, he began. "It happened a few years ago, when the country was still called Musta'sim. There was the royal family with the king as a member of the twelve, his queen and their one daughter. The country had been one of the first who desired to explore the Dark Continent. For a few years soldiers and even a few countrymen were sent to the mysterious land to explore and find what the land had to offer. Back then, we didn't think anyone lived there.

But we were wrong.

No one saw it coming. To this day we-citizens of the lands don't know what happened. Only people who were there are able to tell the tale, and even they can't tell it right. They say monsters invaded the country. Their buildings were destroyed in minutes. Creatures of unimaginable size and power caused havoc through the town. Stories say that the sky was so black with fire that the stars couldn't be seen for days to come. After all the smoke had cleared, the country of Musta'sim was never the same. To make it worse the royal family disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Marga interrupted. "Where did they go?" A few glared at her for interrupting the story, but Ali quickly adapted her question to fit the story.

"No one knows. They couldn't have gone far. Their bodies were never found. Some rumors say that they went into hiding and are in another country. Others say they were kidnapped and are being held captive in the Dark Continent. Personally, I believe that they were killed in the battle. The country was put under new leadership and for a while peace resumed.

"At least," He paused. "Until the twelve decides to fight back."

The silence that followed his story was like a book with a million pages. Glances were exchanged that held entire conversations. Hakuryuu turned to his sister to try and see her reaction. But she did not look up from her plate. She forced her thoughts to remain private, and did not allow anyone to get a hint into her reaction to the story. Ali watched them all like a critic watching a play, waiting for the right moment to catch the mistake. Yet he remained silent. Instead he just watched, observed. Took in everything and gave away nothing. Marga had been told in the past never to trust a man who you didn't know anything about. But he seemed to kind. And his stories were amazing! What was wrong with trusting a man like him?

"Wow," Marga gaped, thinking to herself. "They beat someone of the twelve…" Ali frowned at that, but was careful not to comment.

"Where did you learn all this?" Fatima broke the awe.

Ali just shrugged, but struggled to hide his cocky smirk. "I just talk to the right people I guess."

"Just talked to the right people?" Fatima repeated. To their surprise, he scoffed. "Unless those people were part of the twelve, I wouldn't believe anything they said."

For a moment it looked like Ali wanted to say one thing, but then decided better and changed it. "What makes you say that?"

"Because the twelve doesn't tell their citizens anything! They could have made up that whole story just to cover up what really happened." Taking another sip of water he shook his head. "What kind of supposedly 'all powerful' leaders would let the palace and one of their own members go missing? How could they mess up that badly? They sound like pretty bad leaders to me. Or maybe they really just don't care." Marga felt her face turn red with anger. How dare he insult the twelve?

Ali didn't look to pleased himself, but had an easier time controlling it. "The twelve aren't all powerful. They are just people."

Fatima scoffed again. "You haven't heard the same stories we have."

"Perhaps you should enlighten me."

Hakuryuu decided to give his own opinion. "People say that the twelve are higher beings. That they were people who were blessed generations ago with powers and abilities that are too strong for regular people to see. Others think they are really a group of criminals who use masks to make people believe they are rulers and can control the people. Someone once told me that there isn't even twelve of them but just one, and he controls all of the countries. How can we tell you anything we know when the truth is, we really don't know anything about them? I think we deserve to know something about them! Someone should make them tell us something."

The young boy with red hair at Madaura's side smirked. "And who is going to make them? You? None of us have any clue what they can do, you'd just get crushed." Hakuryuu glared back at the boy but had no real argument. The rest of the group could all see it was quickly leading to another fight. Somehow it seemed that not a day went by without one.

"How could we possibly know that? We don't know what power they have."

"I hate to agree with the punk," Fatima interrupted, "But he's right. Have they ever shown their power huh? Why should we listen to them?"

"They rule over you," Ali replied. Fatima glared as his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Must have forgotten that tiny detail.

To the surprise of the crowd, Madaura decided to give an opinion. "How can the twelve really rule us when they don't know anything about us?" Her voice purred seductively, making every word she said sound logical and impossible to ignore. "We never see them, they never see us. How could any of us know what the other does?"

"See?" Hakuryuu agreed, unwillingly falling right into Madaura's ideals. "They don't really rule over us. We could break all their rules and I bet they'd never even realize." The suggestion was so appalling to Marga she nearly fell off her chair.

"Don't go against them Hakuryuu! They'll kill you!"

Ali's head whipped up in shock. "Kill you?"

"Of course they will!" Marga exclaimed. "You never go against the twelve! We may not see them, but I bet they have spies everywhere and they really know more than we think they do! They would never let someone defy them. It would be too dangerous to even try." Ali stared at her with disbelief. The first time he'd had shown any real emotion the whole evening.

"I thought you respected the twelve."

Marga was taken aback. "Of course I do! They are absolutely amazing!"

"But you think they would do something like that?"

"Yes. They are so powerful, they could do anything they wanted!" instead of agreeing with her, Ali leaned back in his chair to process the information. He'd started debates among the tables, and all of their words reached their ears. The twelve had the power to kill them all. Did they have any power at all? They knew absolutely everything. Maybe they actually knew nothing. They are just human. They are not human. Nothing seemed to align.

Only one common piece of information everyone agreed on.

They could do whatever they wanted to us, and we can't stop them.

"I honestly don't think it's any of our business."

All of them turned to Hakuei. She had remained silent on the topic before, but had finally decided to speak up. Glancing up she pretended not to notice all the attention on her. "They keep many secrets. But we all do. I just think if we leave them alone, they will leave us alone. Why bother them when we are alright with the lives we live now?"

"So you think they are good choices for our leaders?" Ali asked.

Hakuei however paused. "I didn't say that."

"So you don't think so."

Hakuei's eyes flashed with a fire they didn't see in her so openly. Just as quickly as it had appeared it went out, and Hakuei maintained her composure. Ali watched with horrid fascination. As if he knew it was wrong, a sin to pay such close attention to her. But the kind of sin that was too delicious, to satisfying to ignore. Marga had never seen anyone look at Hakuei like that. "All that matters to me is that I don't want to live the kind of lives they lead. They are surrounded in mystery and lies and that's something I don't want to be a part of. It doesn't really matter to me what the twelve does. I like my life without them." A few people mumbled in agreement. It seemed like the simplest choice. Her opinion was able to dissolve the worries of most of the crowd, and they went back to eating. A few of the adults kept quiet, but continued to fume silently to themselves.

Ali didn't say anything on the topic the rest of the meal.

…

* * *

"That was fun." That was one way of putting it.

Hakuei and Marga had come to say goodbye to their friend after the meal. Everyone else had gone back to their own business, deciding to ignore the stranger unless something interesting happened again. They walked with Ali through the town to show him back to town square, where he insisted he could find his way back to the place he was staying on his own. 'No point in making you lovely ladies walk all around town for no reason,' he'd justified. The two girls were too tired to argue. Dinner had lasted longer than they'd expected. And it was much more draining emotionally than most.

"Sorry about what happened," Hakuei apologized yet again. "Some people around here have very…strong opinions about the twelve." He nodded silently.

"I could tell. Not very positive ones either."

"I think they are great!"

Ali smiled at Marga. "That's true." Then he glanced at Hakuei, who remained silent. "You didn't seem too fond of the twelve however."

Hakuei glanced up at him, then quickly looked away. Instead of answering, she shifted the subject slightly. "I meant what I said before about it being better if we just stayed out of their way. I don't as much faith in the twelve as others do."

"Why is that?"

She didn't offer him a straight answer. Instead she just shook her head. "Sometimes it seems like they just don't really care about us down here." Ali raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that he wanted to continue to question her. However, it was just as obvious that she wasn't going to let him.

Bored, Marga glanced around her to find something interesting. Eventually, on a wall at the corner of the street, she saw something new. "Hey, what's that?" The two adults followed her gaze to the poster nailed to the wall of a local bar. Ali's eyes narrowed as he tried to read the words on it.

Then they popped open. "WHAT?"

On the poster was a news article, informing the public of the king of Sindria's future plans to marry a women from Kina.

...

* * *

From up above, a blue haired boy chuckled as he watched king Sinbad struggle to keep his cool as his two friends read the poster themselves. "Things are progressing just the way we wanted them to father," he mumbled to himself. He couldn't wait to tell his parents the good news.

"Things are definitely going to happen soon. Let's hope things will change for the best.


	8. Get a Doctor

Get A Doctor

 **Guys guys, calm down. I'm really honoured that people like my story so much, but just about all of the reviews are asking for updates which won't happen immediantly. Not only is there a lot going on right now, but this story specifically has become a challenge to write. It will take me more time than others to get each chapter done. Thank you for reading, but please don't worry so much. I'm not planning on abandoning this story anytime soon, but it will take a while.**

That was it.

Jafar gave up.

His king was never going to take responsibility for his actions.

Alibaba shivered while Jafar paced back and forth in front of him. They were in the ball room being purposefully ignored by servants who were decorating the room with flowers and ribbons. Jafar didn't have the heart to tell them that they would probably have to replace everything in a few days. Unless Sinbad started showing concern for the arrangement within the next two days, they wouldn't be able to get anything done!

The servants worked for each of the twelve royal families. A female worker with a black mask that had red rubies was from parthevia, and she was in charge of food. Another male with a leather green mask from Reim made sure that the musicians all knew their pieces. While the royal members themselves were not helping in the arrangements, they'd each made sure at least one of their members were involved in the planning. Members of the twelve did not like being surprised.

Jafar hadn't bothered asking where the royal members themselves were. No one ever knew what others were doing.

Even day to day activities were kept secret from one another.

Jafar knew something had to be done.

If only his king could see that. "Where could he be?" Prince Alibaba, not a member but the brother of one of the twelve, had been the only royal member who even bothered to come and check up on them from time to time. King Sinbad and Prince Alibaba had seemed to grow some kind of bond over the last few weeks. Through them, Jafar had started to learn more about Alibaba and he'd come to enjoy his company to a point. But even with their newfound friendship, Alibaba was still a family member of one of the twelve. Even if he was new to it, he'd already started to adapt their ways of secrecy. Often Alibaba would disappear for so long even his own brothers could not find him. He'd always come back and say he was just talking to someone, but he never mentioned who.

Jafar didn't pursue it. He just concluded that it was the way things were. "I'm sure he'll be here any minute Jafar," He tried to calm the advisor with his words. "He's probably busy."

"Busy? I'm sure he is. Busy with a pair of women somewhere he can't be found I'll bet." Jafar fumed while Alibaba shifted away to avoid his glare. His king had done nothing to get ready. He hadn't even fully agreed to the terms! How Jafar had gone from an assassin to an advisor constantly waiting for his king to come home was lost on him.

A low chuckle came from behind him. "Well I was with two lovely women, but I don't think what you're picturing is what really happened." Both the prince and advisor snapped to attention at the familiar mask that he knew belonged to his king as he strolled over. Jafar was one of the few in the world who had seen his kings face without his mask. It had been a challenge, but eventually Sinbad had decided that if he ever went missing, someone should know what he looked like. Alibaba, he was certain, had not seen Sinbad without his mask before. That was only fair. They had not seen him either. Though according to Sinbad, it wouldn't be long until they did. Alibaba wasn't as accustomed to the secrets as they were, and had no trouble with revealing a thing or two. King Sinbad had said in time he would learn the identity of yet another member of the court. Jafar hadn't asked why. He'd learned to let Sinbad keep his plans to himself.

But he still worried.

"King Sinbad, where have you been?" Jafar exclaimed. "This is the tenth time you've gone missing in the last three weeks! You can't keep doing this, we aren't here on vacation!" The person in question laughed as if they really were on vacation, making Jafar's face turn a bright shade of red. "Don't you laugh at me my king! You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

"Jafar, relax!" Sinbad told him casually. "I'm here now aren't I?"

"Where have you been going?" If his king had been up to mischief, it was good to know ahead of time before someone started throwing accusations around.

"Down to the village," He answered with a shrug. "I've made some friends. There's a little orphanage down there, and the woman who works there with her brother- what? Don't look at me like that. You were the one who said I should get closer to the citizens of Kina. I'm am getting closer to the citizens!" Jafar stared at him. The most horrible idea had popped into his head, and no matter what he did he couldn't shake it.

"You…you haven't…"

At first Sinbad stared back blankly. Then he rolled his eyes. His friend certainly knew how to overreact. "NO Jafar, I'm not an idiot. None of them know who I am. I told them my name was Alibaba, and they call me Ali."

"You stole my name?" Alibaba exclaimed.

Sinbad shrugged sheepishly. "It just came to me." Turning back to Jafar he added, "Besides, aren't I supposed to be getting closer to the people?"

Exasperated, Jafar shook his head. "Sinbad, the people aren't getting closer to you if they don't know it's you. I've been trying to plan for your engagement party,"

"Jafar, are we really still doing that?"

"YES!"

Both Sinbad and Jafar huffed angrily. Alibaba felt like he was stuck in-between a wall and a hard place, unable to pick a side and unable to leave. "Jafar, come on! This whole thing is ridiculous."

"This ridiculous thing has been an agreement made by the twelve, and will commence with or without your approval."

"That's not fair!"

"Sinbad, they have already started gathering the ladies of the higher class to come to the party. Everything will be ready in just a few weeks."

"A few weeks? Can't I have a bit more time to lament my last freedom?"

"We aren't putting you in prison Sinbad!"

"Might as well be!"

"Why are you so against this?" Jafar finally asked. "I know you never wanted to get married, but I didn't think you were this against the idea." Sinbad crossed his arms with a scowl on his face.

"I'm not against the idea of marriage. I just don't want to be the one getting married."

"Ugh!" Jafar threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. He turned away from his king, unable to find a way to get through to him. "Look, this is happening whether you want it to or not. If you aren't going to help with the preparations, you can just leave!"

No answer.

"Well? Sinbad?"

Alibaba answered instead. "Um...Jafar? Sinbad left."

…

Sinbad walked through the streets, fuming just as angrily as he had been the first time he'd walked through without his mask. Jafar was his best friend, but sometimes he could be to…to…uptight! Everything was about social order, following the rules of the twelve, politics. He was one of the twelve! He had to be respected just as much as the rest of them. And yet he was going to have to be the only one to marry a lady of the court. He'd probably never even see her face till his wedding night because of her mask, and then after she'd be given a different one. It was all so much trouble for something he didn't even want!

At least when he went down into the city, no one talked to him about it. Well, some people talked to him about it, but they didn't know it was him, so he mostly just heard opinions. Some women were upset that it was only women of higher class being allowed to go, and not middle or lower class like them. Others were excited for the grand party and selection process that would probably go on for a while. Others were dreaming about the wonderful nights, the balls and parties, what gowns the women would be made to wear.

Only a few of them had the right thoughts. Like Hakuryuu.

Hakuryuu had asked why it was going on. No one bothered to mention it, and no one had bothered to answer. They didn't question what the twelve did Sinbad realized. They just went along with it. He honestly couldn't decide through his experiences with the people whether the marriage was necessary or not. Some of them worshiped the ground they walked on, others wanted to tear that ground apart with their teeth. What seemed to be common with admiration or hate, they all feared and wondered about them.

All But Hakuei.

Those two siblings were quite a handful. Hakuryuu was the only one who seemed more interested then afraid. Hakuei looked neither afraid nor interested, just unresponsive. She didn't care to hear about their news unless in influenced her and the people directly. She just wanted to be left alone.

Sinbad honestly wasn't sure what he thought about that.

He must have found it refreshing, since he went back to see them often. He'd come to enjoy their company, not just Hakuei's but the kids as well. There weren't many kids at any palace and even there they were told to behave and couldn't play in public. Those kids were completely open with nothing to hide, while the others were groomed to secret keeping.

Some of them were very good at it too.

Sinbad took the familiar turn down the street towards the orphanage. He'd only left them a few hours earlier, but decided it couldn't hurt to take another visit. Hakuryuu had started to get suspicious of him visiting all the time, but after he'd given the excuse that he was working close to them, he became suspicious that he hadn't seen him around more often. It was all such trouble.

On his way there, he ran into Marga first. Normally he'd find her playing with some of the other kids or drawing pictures in the sand. Three hours ago she'd been playing hopscotch by her lonesome.

She wasn't doing any of that.

It looked suspiciously like she was crying.

"Marga?" The girl didn't look up as Sinbad knelt down beside her. She sniffled, glancing up at him out of curiosity alone. "Hey, what's wrong?" reaching out he gently put his hand on her shoulder. She leaned into it, having grown attached to him over his few visits.

"I-I…I didn't mean to…It was an accident."

"What was an accident Marga?"

She continued to sniffle, and the way her lip was wobbling made him think she was going to start sobbing. "We were just playing…I d-didn't mean to break the window." Sinbad had a hard time not laughing. Those windows he had looked so old he bet just a push would make it crash to bits. "F-Fatima was so…so mad and….And Hakuei…"

Hakuei?

"What about Hakuei?" Marga sniffled again, worse than before. She'd noticed his voice had changed, more intense than comforting. "Marga, what about Hakuei?" She didn't answer. Ideas started running through his mind when he began considering what could have happened. Jumping up he left Marga and rushed towards the Orphanage. He was quick, so fast that people stared as he ran by. He had no idea why he was running so fast. He had no idea why he was so worried.

When he got there, he realized he had good reason to be.

Hakuei was sitting with her brother on the corner of the porch, her leg covered in blood. Her leg was perched up as she washed off the injuries and her brother wrapped bandages around a few small cuts on her arm. The leg was covered in black and blue blotches, most of the blood already gone. But they hadn't wrapped it up yet, revealing the large scars that would not heal. Sinbad felt like the world was going to slip out underneath him. "Hakuei!" Both of them turned to see him, both wide-eyed in surprise. "What happened?"

Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink and she couldn't meet his gaze. "Oh, Ali. I didn't…I thought you weren't coming back today."

"What happened?" He repeated, to shocked for the anger to reach him. Hakuei hesitated, not sure she wanted to tell the truth.

"Fatima," Hakuryuu hissed.

"It was an accident," Hakuei tried to reason, ignoring her brother's glare. "Marga accidentally broke a window when she was playing with her friends. I went to clean up the mess and Fatima pushed me by accident." Accident. Accident? Hakuryuu's expressions said that it wasn't an accident.

To make it worse, Sinbad could not believe that they were just cleaning the wounds on their front, dirty porch. "Hakuei, that could get infected. Is it broken?" Neither of them answered. "You need to get to a doctor,"

"It's not necessary," Hakuei argued.

"Sister…"

"Not necessary?" Sinbad yelled, some of the anger starting to surface. "You are cleaning your scars on a dirty porch! What if they get dirt in them? What if they are worse than they look?" Sinbad tried to grab her shoulder so he could make her move.

Hakuei unfortunately wouldn't budge. She snatched her arm away from him, ignoring the pain it sent up her arm. "Calm down Ali! We know how to deal with this. It's happened before."

"It's happened before?" Sinbad screamed, making both of them jump.

"That's what life with mother is like," Hakuryuu grumbled under his breath. Hakuei hit his shoulder with her good arm, but it was too late. Sinbad had heard him. He couldn't believe that they were even having that conversation. Hakuei shouldn't have been struggling just to fix her wounds. She was kind, she stayed with her brother in a terrible situation just because she cared about him and the kids that lived there. Fatima was going to get away with it because Hakuei wouldn't tell anyone. Maybe she did have a bit of a problem with standing up to the ones who hurt her, but that didn't mean she should have had to deal with it. No one should have.

But it bugged Sinbad that Hakuei had to deal with it specifically.

He didn't want to dwell on that.

At the moment he had to focus on getting Hakuei out of there.

"I'll be right back," Sinbad excused himself to hide behind a few buildings. Once he was sure that the others wouldn't be able to hear, he pulled out his shellphone.

"Jafar?"

Pause. "Have you decided to finally pay some attention to your duties my king?"

"Yeah. I'll do it."

Another pause. "Really?" He took the silence as a yes. "Well finally! Get back down here as soon as possible, you have to help make arrangements,"

"Under one condition," Sinbad interrupted.

Third pause. "…Go on," Jafar encouraged slowly.

"If I'm doing this, I don't want just the women of the higher class there. I want the people of all the classes, lowest to highest."

Jafar sounded like he was going to freak out. "Sinbad, that's easier said than done. All eligible women of Kina? Do you have any idea how much harder that would be?"

"Narrow down the requirements then," Sinbad suggested. "Say, they have to be between 20-30, have to be a citizen of Kina, must have lived here for a specific amount of time and…and must have at least one sibling?"

"One sibling?"

"I-It was just an idea. Let's say they have to have at least two other citizens of the country vouch for them, but their age doesn't matter." He could practically hear him frowning through the phone. Might as well go the whole way. "Since we're bringing more people, are we doing the beauty rituals?"

"The what?"

"You know, the beauty rituals. I heard it was a tradition here. All the women that are eligible go through two weeks of beauty preparation. Get proper clothes, clean up, and perhaps heal any wounds or injuries…" That last one sounded a bit too hopeful, even to him.

It wasn't that hard for Jafar to become suspicious. "Sinbad…do you have another reason for doing this? If so, I need to know,"

"Sounds great Jafar, but I've got to go! I'll talk to you later to discuss things, make sure it's all social classes, thanks bye!" Before Jafar could get a word in edgewise Sinbad slammed the off button on the phone. Slipping the phone back on his belt and headed back to his friends.

Then stopped.

What had he done?


	9. Kicked Out, Invited In

Kicked Out, Invited In

"Mother, I missed you so much!"

Madaura smiled down at the young boy who hugged her leg.

"Mother, look at what I've made!"

She nodded towards the drawing of a bird that a young girl showed her with gleaming, hopeful eyes.

"I love you so much mother!"

The children crowded around her as if she was a celebrity. They respected her like she was a queen. They were in awe of her, more than one would admire one of the highest members of the twelve.

It was absolutely perfect. Even the young gremlin were able to serve their purpose properly.

She walked through the halls, relishing in the cheerful waves and admirations the children sent to her. The women had spent her life raising the next generation of leaders and raising them into vessels for her will. Whether they knew that or not was irrelevant, and she really didn't care if they found out. As long as they were all loyal to her to the end, then she could use them through their lives. If she got enough supporters, she may someday have risen to the ranks of the twelve. Was that not everyone's dream? Madaura was a patient women. She would MAKE them powerful. She would MAKE them useful. If she couldn't, she would get rid of them.

Speaking of useless children, there was one limb to her family tree that she had to cut short.

As she waded her way through the children in her hallways, pointedly ignoring one of the smallest children who struggled to move through the crowd, she spotted Fatima waiting for her patiently at the end of the hall. Outwardly, she checked that her smile got bigger to appease him. Inwardly, she nearly groaned. While he was one of the most useful boys she had, but since she already had him under his wing, she did not prefer continuing to waste her time on him. There were so many others that she had to continue to work on.

The plan was that her children would grow up, become successful, then later come back and be indebted to the women they loved so much. Fatima had never left, and instead chosen to stay as close to her as possible. It was useful having another hand around the place, but his harsh attitude and possessiveness sometimes made it harder to deal with the children than if she had been alone.

When she got closer, she smiled brightly at Fatima. "Oh my dear child, how are you today?"

She could see his eyes twinkle when she called him her child, but he said nothing of it. "I am perfectly find mother. Did you have a nice journey to the store?"

"Yes, I most certainly did." Turning to her side, she gave her companion a tender smile. "Evangalina here was a great help." Behind her, the young women brightened happily. She was another girl who had come to her as a child, grown up in her care. She was not the most intelligent of the children. She was described as…ditzy would be a good term. But despite that, she was extremely popular and her social skills were impeccable. The women had grown to be absolutely stunning, with long bright hair that glowed in the sunlight and a clear face. Even when she was eighteen many men had come to Madaura asking for permission to marry the women. Of course Madaura had refused them all.

If the women's brains could not be used, than her beauty would be a good substitute. It was only a matter of time before some rich nobleman passed through town and asked for her.

Even Fatima took a moment to look away from her and back to Madaura. "That's good. I'm am glad you have returned. Nothing new has happened here while you were gone." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Fatima was hiding a bruised hand behind his back. From the way he carried himself, she could bet that he was the one who had done the punching.

Purposefully ignoring this, she nodded to his information without complaint. "I see. That is good my son. By any chance, do you know where Hakuei is this evening?" Fatima's eyes widened, puzzled. Madaura hadn't even mentioned Hakuei since she had injured her leg a few days ago. And even then, she'd only come out to visit when her friend Ali had come. Of course she acted like the perfect mother, feigning shock at the whole thing and promising to take care of her in front of Ali. Even as she completely ignored her and only spoken to him. She hadn't spoken to her or of her since that.

Lately she only would visit them if Ali was around.

"I haven't seen her myself mother," he hesitated. "But if I were to bet, I'd say she was in the living room sewing something." A yes. Hakuei was an excellent knitter and tailor. When she'd been younger Madaura had thought she would be useful with that skill. But as it turned out, she was just too much trouble to be worth it.

She had thought about it. Hakuei was helpful around the house and with the children. But her influence over the children was making things difficult for her. Hakuei acted like a sister, almost a mother to the children in Madaura's absence. It wouldn't be a problem for her if Hakuei was one of her children, but the women had decidedly kept her distance and retained a different set of morals and ideals than her. Those ideals were passed onto the children she helped take care of. Just the night before one of her more intelligent, useful children had been crying over being bullied. But instead of going to Madaura, he'd rushed over to Hakuei.

That was not good.

But it could easily be fixed.

"I'll just have to pay her a visit then." Without any arguments, Fatima moved to her side to follow her to the living room. Evangalina's eyes twinkled with curiosity and excitement, inspiring her to follow along to. Perhaps she wasn't as foolish as Madaura accused her of being. The young women smiled in anticipation, hopeful for what was to come.

Before they found Hakuei however, Madaura decided to make sure of one thing. On their way to the living room, Madaura caught sight of the young girl. Marga? Yes, her name must have been Marga. She was drawing something on a piece of paper. Three people wearing specific masks that Madaura had never seen before. Most likely her idea of what the twelve would look like. She wondered where they got that idea from.

"Marga?" The young girl glanced up at her in surprise. There was respect, but Madaura could see there was little love in her eyes. She did not like that. Perhaps that young girl had spent more time around the two siblings that she thought. While Hakuryuu could have to wait, at least she would be able to handle one.

"Yes mother?"

"Tell me my child, is your friend Ali here today?"

Behind her, Fatima scowled when she mentioned the stranger, but she chose to ignore it. She didn't care whether Fatima felt threatened by the amount of attention she sent towards another. As long as it didn't hinder her plans. Perhaps his jealousy would even keep him closer to her.

But Ali. Now that was a man she wished she could have gotten to know when he was a child. That man may have been just a wandering travellor, but she could tell from the way he carried himself that there was more to him. That he would be very useful. If she had him with her, she knew that she would not regret it in time. No matter how hard it would be to do so. The only problem was how she would do that. She had no way of knowing if he was an orphan, and even if he was not, he seemed much to mature to fall for her mothering techniques. He had come by to visit the orphanage many times since his first visit. Each time he'd been polite to her, but even she could tell it was only surface deep.

If only he hadn't been friends with those two brats.

"No," Marga answered innocently. "I don't think so."

Good. Then Madaura could get rid of the first thing that stood in the way of her getting to Ali.

Or at least, one of them.

"Thank you dear," She pulled away, returning to her stroll towards the living room. Evangalina had swooned a bit at the mention of Ali. She, along with many of the older children in the orphanage, and fawned over the young man who told stories of foreign places. While his friend group mostly consisted of the two siblings Hakuei, Hakuryuu and the child Marga, he was very charming and had no problem speaking with others. Or flirting. Evangalina had just been another victim to his charm.

Just another reason why he could be very valuable to Madaura.

When she found Hakuei, she realized Fatima was right. She had been in the sitting room. She sat on the old couch fixing a pillow that had a large cut through the middle. Hakuryuu was cleaning of a small blade that had a suspicious amount of cotton on it. Perhaps next time she would listen when Fatima told her Hakuryuu was practicing his fighting technique. She'd thought it had been ridiculous.

What would Hakuryuu have to fight for?

When they entered the room, both the siblings looked up instantly. There was obvious surprise written all over their faces. They hadn't been oblivious to Madaura's separation of them over the last few days. It was normal, and they hadn't put much thought into it. What they did question was the abnormal. Madaura coming to visit them without Ali there, or any specific reason. "Mother," Hakuei greeted, pushing the pillow to the side and getting to her feet. Hakuryuu just watched her (Or mostly Fatima) with a wary glance. The bandages poorly covering the scars and the limp in her step was pointedly ignored by everyone. "What can I do for you?"

Mother smiled gently. "My dear, I'm afraid there is something very…important that I need to talk to you about."

Hakuryuu's eyes narrowed, but Hakuei nodded. "Of course mother. What is it?"

Madaura glanced behind her to make sure that none of the children had followed them. There was only Fatima and Evangalina in the back, watching the scene with curiosity. With a long, practiced sigh, she placed her hands on Hakuei's shoulders. The young women blinked at her in confusion, glancing at her brother who looked just as confused as she did for answers. Probably not the best option. She shook her head, trying to look sadder than she felt. "My child, I wish it didn't have to come to this. But given the circumstances, I felt I had no choice."

Her words meant nothing to Hakuei as she continued to keep that puzzled expression on her face. _Fool,_ Mother thought to herself. _Perhaps I will be able to put on a show for my dear children._

"I don't understand," Hakuei replied patiently, eyes darting to her brother for answers. "What do you need to do?"

Sighing, she forced Hakuei to look into her eyes. Hakuei was so confused, she didn't even try to look away. "My dear," She pretended to hesitated. Perhaps she could even fake a tear or two. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go."

All eyes in the room widened to the size of dinner plates.

"What?" Hakuei asked.

"WHAT?" Hakuryuu repeated, jumping to his feet. "You-why? Under what grounds?"

Madaura shook her head, ignoring Fatima's obvious victorious smile and Evangalina's hidden smirk. She and Hakuei had never been enemies, but they'd never been allies. More than that, like Madaura, she enjoyed watching the strife and fear the crossed their faces. While she enjoyed it, mother did her best to look like she didn't. "My dear, I'm just trying to think of the best for the rest of the children. Not only have some of the children been poisoned from your cooking, but I've heard that you've been giving the children ideas that they shouldn't have. One of them refused to obey when Fatima told him to clean the table yesterday." A wide exaggeration, but no one had enough proof to argue. "I just don't think it's good for you to be around the children my dear. I'm only thinking of what is best for them."

That wasn't entirely true of course. Not only was Hakuei gaining the support of the children who were supposed to be following her, but she also had the man Ali on her side. When she'd seen him last and tried to speak to him, she could feel his despise even through his charming smile. Not only had she influenced the children, but now she was influencing the people who didn't even live with them? That was unacceptable. Besides, Ali would be hers. She would make sure that boy took her side, no matter how difficult. And Hakuei would not get in the way.

There was, of course, the worry that Ali would no longer visit when Hakuei was gone. But there was still Hakuryuu and Marga who he visited just as frequently. Even if she was gone, he would continue to visit them, she was sure.

Besides. With a bit of work, she was certain she could get Evangalina to replace her in Ali's heart.

Maybe make her become even more to him.

But one step at a time.

"Look at what your clumsiness did!" Madaura pointed to her leg. "What if one of the children had been there? It's just not safe for others to be around you."

"How is that my sister's fault?" Hakuryuu argued. "How could anything that you just said possibly be her fault? It was the one with the Oedipus complex who hurt her!" he spat at Fatima, whose face turned bright red at the accusation. Evangalina could hardly contain her laughter.

Hakuryuu ignored both of them. "Yes she's a bad cook, but she didn't do that on purpose, and she hardly cooks at all anymore! And how can she control how every kid in this entire building interprets her? She was just doing her job and trying to take care of them. What 'ideas' has she possibly been putting in the children's head that's so wrong that she would get kicked out?" Madaura decided it would be in her best interest not to answer that question. There was no way she could get that out and make it sound reasonable. Better just make her leave and let them guess.

"My dear child," Madaura cooed, reaching up so she could put her hand on Hakuryuu's cheek. "You must understand that this is for the best. She's just not helpful here."

Hakuryuu recoiled, visibly disgusted at her touch. "Not helpful," Hakuryuu snarled dubiously. "Why don't you just admit the truth? That she's just not useful enough for you to take advantage of her in the future." Madaura had no trouble keeping the smile on her face, despite her surprise. So the boy had figured out her long-term plan. Perhaps he was wiser than she had given him credit for.

No matter.

She'd never cared to hide it from the useless ones.

As long as the naïve ones didn't know the truth.

And the reality was, there were more naïve people in the world than enlightened.

"Don't worry my dear," she tilted her head to smile at Hakuryuu, who was shaking with rage. "In time, you'll understand." Perhaps, without his sister around to support him, she could gain the boys support as well. He may have been stubborn and intelligent, but he was also very impressionable and seemed to desire love and acceptance more than most, whether he admitted it or not. Turning back to Hakuei, she put her mouth into a set line. "But as for you, you must leave. Immediately."

Hakuei didn't answer right away. She was too stunned. She'd never intentionally done anything wrong, though she'd admit she had gone against Madaura's wishes a few times. But to be forced to leave? There weren't many helpers other than Fatima. And he was more of a slave driver than a babysitter. Who would actually leave him alone with children? Maybe Hakuei wasn't the most qualified, but she thought she had done a good job. And to be forced to leave under such vague excuses? Where would she even go? She'd lived in the orphanage since she was a little girl. She'd never left, and hadn't planned on leaving until her brother was able to. But she couldn't bring him with her. Legally, if she had no way to support him, she couldn't adopt him. And even if she could, what about the other children? Marga?

"…I…."

The door swung open.

Everyone spun around to see a young boy standing at the door. His eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open like he was going to say something but nothing would come out. "What are you doing? Can't you see we are busy?" But the red headed boy didn't move. Even with Fatima's death glare and the obvious tension in the room, he didn't leave. That was odd.

"I-I'm sorry Mother," The boy whimpered, for the first time in front of mother. "T-they wanted to talk to you immediately."

"It's alright," Hakuei urged him, seeing him struggle to get the words out. "Just tell us what,"

"It is not 'alright!'" Fatima bellowed. "This is why you are being sent away! You would let these kids get away with anything!" Turning back to the kid he growled, "I don't care what's going on, get out of here!"

"B-But sir," The child begged. "T-there are soldiers,"

"What soldiers?" Hakuryuu interrupted. "What do you mean?"

Before the kid could answer, a hand was placed on his shoulder. "Allow me to speak to them if you don't mind." Nervously, the boy didn't argue as he left the room immediately.

The men who followed on the other hand showed no intention of leaving. Madaura nearly choked when she saw the first mask. There was five men in total, though most likely there was more outside. They all wore white clothes with red at the shoulders, waste and ends, covering metal armour underneath. Madaura recognized the clothes as ones from Balbaad from when she went there. Had they found out about what she'd done? What bothered her more were the masks. The four soldiers at the back had regular ones that all soldiers at the palace of Balbaad had. Tan clay masks showing the image of the first king, without the eyes and including the beard. The one at the front however wore a similar mask, but it had a golden sash across the eyes. Sign of the leader.

They weren't just the guards from the streets. They were soldiers of the twelve.

Most of the children had never even seen soldiers of the twelve. They'd never even dream that they would come into their home. _What a day for Ali to be away,_ Hakuryuu thought. _He would have loved this!_ "S-soldiers!" Madaura bowed, gesturing to the others to do the same. "W-what can I do for you?"

The one at the front tilted his head respectfully. "Good evening ma'am. I'm sorry to trouble you, but we will be out of your hair in a moment." After a pause to make sure they were all paying attention he continued. "I'm sure you've see the posters that have been hung around town?"

Madaura was about to say yes, but Evangalina tilted her head in confusion. "No, I haven't. What posters?" Madaura cursed inwardly. How dare she waste the time of the soldiers of the knights, and in turn, make Madaura's reputation worse?

She would have wrung the girl's neck if the man hadn't simply nodded. "The king of Sindria is to marry a women from the capital city of Kina. We are here to see if there are any eligible women between the ages 20-30 that are citizens of Kina who are able to come." Evangalina gasped in surprise while the two boys stared at the soldiers in shock. Each of them had seen the posters, but they'd assumed it would only apply to members who were related to the twelve. Ladies of the court, not regular citizens. Madaura had assumed that as well. But when she realized that it wasn't so, her heart lit up with excitement.

A chance. A chance to get one of her children into the ranks of the twelve.

That was it.

That was the chance she had been waiting for.

Soon it wouldn't be people running and hugging her.

Everyone would be bowing to her.

As Madaura tried to handle her excitement, the man turned to steal a glance at Hakuei. He took in the sight of her, considering. "You. How old are you?"

Hakuei blinked in surprise. "Me? I am 25."

"Are you currently in a romantic relationship?"

The question just made her even more puzzled. "No, I am not."

"And I take it you are a legal citizen of Kina?"

Madaura got a sinking feeling as Hakuei nodded again. "Of course I am."

He nodded. "Good. Then you will come."

WHAT? It was like Madaura had just been handed a trophy and then broken it like a sheet of glass. Hakuei would go? No no, that would not do at all! Hakuei would not help bring Madaura any power. Because of her experiences, she may even bring Madaura into a bad light and make things worse for her! Why on earth would they want that girl?

Hakuei didn't seem any more welcoming of the idea than Madaura was. "Sir, I-I don't think I quite understand. Just because of those things I am eligible to go to the palace that was locked up from the outside world for centuries? What exactly is going on? Why is this happening now?"

The man bit the inside of his lip, a clear indication that he was hiding something. But nonetheless, he spoke without a hint of hesitation or doubt. "For the king to decide who he would choose to wed, the twelve has decided to pick out women from the city who fit these criteria. Once all of the women have been found, they will be escorted to the palace where they will go through the traditional beauty treatment for one month. After that the women will be able to walk freely among the palace for two months, participating in balls and various celebrations. After that for about one year a women of the kings choosing will spend the year as his 'wife' as a trial run to see if he is satisfied. If he is not, the process will continue until he has chosen a women he prefers of all the eligible women."

Fatima mumbled under his breath, "Lucky guy."

"In the palace of the twelve," Hakuryuu awed. Madaura did not like the look of hope in his eyes when he turned to his sister. No doubt going to the palace of the twelve-even if only for a few months-was an absolute dream come true. He must have hoped it would come true for his sister.

But Madaura couldn't let that happen. Even if there was many girls to choose from, she couldn't risk Hakuei being chosen. However unlikely.

"Sire-what is your name, if I may be so bold?"

The man frowned. "You may not."

Oh.

"Sire, H-Hakuei dear would not be pleasing to his majesty, trust me. We would not want to send her as our house's representative. B-Bring Evangalina! She is 20 years old, she can go!" Actually the girl was only 18 years old, but no one dared to correct Madaura. Evangalina stepped forward eagerly, a hopeful look in her eyes. "She's such a beautiful young women, loved by all," cooed Madaura in a desperate attempt to convince the soldiers. "She would make the perfect wife for the king of Sindria. Hakuei on the other hand is a terrible cook, has many enemies and does not even know her own families past! I was just about to send her away before you got here! Evangalina would make an excellent wife instead of Hakuei, who will obviously not be going,"

But the man shook his head. "No. the order says that only one from each household may be chosen. If there is more than one, the eldest must be selected."

Madaura blanched. "What?"

"You said that this girl was only 20, correct?" the soldier tipped his head towards Evangalina who felt like her heart was breaking. "Our orders say that if a household has more than one women between the ages 20-30 who fit the criteria, then we are to pick the eldest one. If this women here," he gestured to a confused looking Hakuei. "Is really 25, than she would be brought instead of Evangalina." Evangalina looked like she was going to cry. She'd better not dare cry tears in front of the soldiers, Madaura thought.

"So that means," Hakuryuu concluded, a wicked smile reaching his face. "That Hakuei will go to the palace, even if Madaura says she can't."

"Absolutely not!" Madaura cried out. No. This was her chance! Her chance to get a foothold in the twelve, and she was losing it! "Hakuei, I absolutely forbid you to go!" Hakuei hesitated, giving Madaura a gleam of hope. Even though Hakuei had no reason to obey Madaura's wishes, they both knew deep down how must Hakuei wished to be separate from any of the twelves affairs. It wasn't a secret what she thought of their lifestyle and the secrets she kept. It wouldn't take much to convince her not to go, and allow Evangalina to go in her stay.

Again the man in the mask refused to let Madaura have her way. "It is not up to her anymore. Our orders were to bring in all eligible women between the ages 20-30, and the eldest one if there was multiple. These orders are straight from the twelve, and it is mandatory that they are followed to the point. If there are any arguments you may take them up with one of them but for now," He pointed to Hakuei. "That women is to collect her things and come with us." Fatima stared at the scene in stunned silence. It was beyond him why they would ever think Hakuei would be the preferable choice over someone like Evangalina. How dedicated were the soldiers to following their orders?

Hakuei also wished to test this theory. "Can't I say if I wish to go or not?"

The man at the front shook his head once more. "I'm afraid you may not. Unless you are in a serious relationship that we do not know of, you fit all the requirements. We were ordered to bring every women who fit the criteria to the palace." Glancing down, he noticed Hakuei's injured leg. "Any injuries or special needs will be dealt with at the palace. Your leg can be treated as soon as we get there."

"B-but…" Madaura mumbled, frantically searching her brain for some kind of escape. "There must be someone else who can go instead of Hakuei. S-someone?" If they had been able to see the man's face, they would have seen him holding back an exasperated sigh. How much longer did they have to discuss before he would be allowed to do his job?

"Is there any other women available within the proper age that is older than her in this household?"

There wasn't. All the children were younger than her, since Hakuei only stayed there as a worker. The only reason Evangalina even stayed was because Madaura wouldn't let her leave until she could marry her off. The other girls would never pass off for twenty, much less twenty six. Reading Madaura's face, he concluded such. "Then Miss Hakuei here must be the only one."

Madaura didn't know what to say. That couldn't be it. He said it with such finality, but there must have been another way. There was always another way, if only she could just think of it in time. But there wasn't time. Hakuei had to leave right away.

Hakuryuu saw Madaura trying to grasp at straws. He wouldn't let her get her way again. Not after she was about to kick his sister onto the streets. Turning to Hakuei he ordered. "Hakuei, you've got to go."

Her eyes widened when she stared at her younger brother in shock. "What?"

"Go!" Hakuryuu urged her again. "This will be great for you. You can get out of here!" Hakuei was stunned. She couldn't believe her brother was actually telling her to go to a strange place where she wouldn't be able to see him or anyone she knew for months! "Sister, you will be alright. You are about to go somewhere no one ever thought possible before! Besides," he turned to Madaura with a wicked gleam in his eye. "You had to find a place to go anyway." Madaura felt the blood boil in her veins.

But Hakuei was not convinced. "But what about you?" If she had been about to throw Hakuei out on her own, she had little doubt that she would do the same to Hakuryuu. Since he wasn't an adult, legally, she couldn't throw him out. But they both knew there were other options.

Despite that, Hakuryuu had a confident look on his face. "Don't worry about me. If I have to, I'll take Marga and we'll go find someplace else to go. Ali's a traveller, I'm sure would help us find a good place to start. Maybe in another country." Hakuryuu relished in the look of horror that crossed over Madaura's face. It only occurred to her then that Ali's main reason to visit was because of the three of them. If all three of them disappeared, she would lose her chance at getting close to him as well.

Everything she wanted. All her goals were right in front of her, just in her line of sight.

But she couldn't get it.

She couldn't even reach it.

It was gone.

Hakuei glanced at the soldiers waiting at her door. How hard would they fight if she resisted? Either way, she knew she wouldn't get far with her leg still injured. And she knew her brother would never forgive her if she didn't take this opportunity to leave. He'd been trying to convince her for a while. Now she had no choice.

With a shaky breath, she nodded. "Alright. I'll go."

 **Reading this over, I think I need to do more practice on, 'show not say.' Hoped you like the chapter anyway!**


	10. Eligible Bachelorette's

Eligible Bachelorette's

"Come on Spartos! Don't you want to spy on some of the pretty girls?"

"No one said they were pretty," He mumbled under his breath. "And as a matter of fact, no. I don't want to spy on them."

The young princess Pisti was dragging who she hoped was Prince Spartos through the grounds of the Kina palace. IN reality it was Spartos, but sometimes she wasn't sure. The masks that his people wore all seemed so alike in her opinion. His was made of silver, covering the left side of his face completely. While all of the masks from his country were formed to look like saints and prophets of the past, his was designed to look specifically like the hero Elijah. With strong cheeks, dark eyes and a small beard it didn't match his young handsome face that always seemed undeterred. Pisti had a mask that went around her eyes, completely covered in light yellow feathers. Some citizens who saw her mask used to wonder if it would really make her fly.

Once when they were little she had convinced him to show her his face if she showed him hers. He'd absolutely hated the idea, because his family was strict on revealing identities. But, in the end he'd given in. After that it was like the two of them shared an inseparable bond. Whenever they happened to be in the same country, if you were looking for one you could find the other. Perhaps it was because they secretly didn't trust the other to keep their secret. The relationships between their countries were so fragile, despite being in an alliance. The way their countries ran were complete opposite. And they never divulged secrets with the others.

At times like that however, Pisti and Spartos liked to pleasantly ignore the caution engraved into them by their predecessors. Sometimes it was just easier to pretend they were just two friends. "Aw, you're no fun! I'd bet this is the first time you've even seen a girl without a mask, isn't it?"

Spartos frowned. "No, it's not." In actuality, the first one he'd seen without a mask outside of family had been Pisti. It was considered vulgar for a lady of the court to show their faces to anyone besides their husband. Sometimes not even then. He'd only seen the faces of children and sometimes citizens from other countries. Many citizens in his country even designed their own masks as a thing of beauty. Pisti had scoffed at the idea.

Right then she just rolled her eyes. "Suuuuree. Come on, it will be fun! We are just going to sneak a peek, see who all is here. I've already made a bet with Sharkkon on which girls we think will win the kings heart, and you've got to put in your bet!" Spartos ignored the stab in his heart when she referred to another prince to casually. But then he had to remind himself that it wasn't the same for her as it was for him.

So he followed with only slight resistance as Pisti tugged him through the halls to the small portion of the palace that had been sealed off for the guests. Spartos had only seen a few of the women as they were being brought in. Other than that most of them had dutifully remained inside the borders they were given over the past two weeks. Some of them tried to escape, but the guards did their jobs at keeping them in.

Pisti however had the clever idea to spy on them from one of the windows on the roof. "No one goes up there because you can't climb there from the inside," She explained. "We can looked down on them, but they won't be able to see us unless they look up. Besides, I can just remind them that I am one of the potential brides so they won't get us in trouble."

Spartos nearly choked on air. "YOU? But you're…you aren't…" He trailed off when Pisti fell over laughing.

"Ha! You are so gullible! Mama made sure that King Sinbad can't pick any of my sisters or I. Besides, why would I want to? I don't want to be tied down by such things. I'd rather just look at all the pretty men than have just one." Pisti shrugged carelessly while Spartos suppressed a shudder. He didn't want to know just how many men she'd like to look at. When she spotted his reaction she grinned. "Oh don't worry. You're one of those pretty men too."

The half of his face that was not covered showed his skin turning bright red.

His embarrassment just got worse as she sneaked him up on the roof. There were a few soldiers guarding the doors but none of them noticed two adults on the roof. "How did you find this window anyway?" He asked as they found a ledge next to the window to sit on.

"I told you I made some bet's with Sharkkon. He was trying to spy on the pretty girls." Ah.

"I'm betting on that one," she told him pointing down. "See her?" Spartos glanced down the window and immediately turned red. Over a hundred girls were sitting in the lobby, chatting, doing their makeup or getting their hair done. He bet that there were more in the other rooms as well, probably having more 'beauty treatment.' He didn't know what that implied and he didn't want to know. What he did know was that absolutely none of them were wearing masks. It was a nightmare! "Oh calm down you big baby," she scoffed when she had to grab his arm so he didn't run away. "They're just girls! Get over your stupid superstitions and take a look." he didn't want to look. It seemed rude, almost disrespectful to see any lady without a mask. They were so exposed!

He hardly noticed the annoyed puff Pisti let out. "You didn't act like this when I showed you my face." He was glad he was able to compose himself before he turned an even brighter shade of red.

"We were just kids then," Spartos naively answered. "Those are women. You were just a girl."

Later he would realize his mistake. At the moment Pisti just grumbled and turned away. "I'm a lady now," She muttered to herself. Out loud she said to him, "You might as well get used to it. They aren't going to be wearing masks when the balls and celebrations happen, and you don't want to go all red and puffy-cheeked with all of the kings and queens of the 12 around, do you?"

Alright. So that did sound like the worse of two evils. Swallowing his pride he forced himself to look again. Once he'd calmed down a bit she pointed again. "Anyway. Look at that one! She looks pretty, right?" the girl she was pointing at had long dark hair with a white band tied around her head. She had dark eyes that absorbed all her surroundings cautiously. Her 'dress' looked more like a suit of armour. The top half was made of pink metal that went down to the waist and framed the brown silk cloth that made the skirt. Her scowl said that she did NOT want to be there. "Her name is Toto. Sharkkon bet that she'd be the first to leave if anyone's given the chance."

"She looks nice," he replied, trying to sound distant. "W-who is that one?" The next girl was one with slightly purple hair tied back. She wore red glasses that matched her red lipstick. But unlike most, she didn't wear a dress or any royal garment the court had given them. She was dressed in the smallest amount of armour Spartos had ever seen. He instantly regretted pointing her out. "S-s-she looks a little old to be thirty."

Pisti giggled at his stutter. "That's Myer's. She's training the girls, not competing with them." She said that to reassure him, but that just horrified him even more. "Alright, you're not interested in that bet. Do you want to make a go at who you think will win?" After a quick scan at the crowd she pointed down again. "Sharkkon thinks she's going to win." A shy girl with dark skin and beautiful dark hair flowed down her back as she politely listened to another blonde girl ramble on about something. Spartos had to admit she was beautiful. Her skin was flawless, and even with the humble attitude he could picture her as a queen.

But a queen for Sinbad? Lady-killer Sinbad? Maybe not.

"Yeah, I didn't think so either," Pisti told him when she saw his reaction. "How about her?" After that there was a women who had a bright smile. She wore a very small brown dress and was smoking a long pipe. Her light brown hair was done up revealing her low neckline and a few freckles on her face. Spartos wasn't sure that amount-or lack of amount-of clothing was suitable in any culture connected to the twelve. Of course Sinbad would like her.

"M-maybe." He was tempted to agree based on the soul fact that he really wanted to leave. As he did his best to try and look anywhere but less conservative girls, he noted the girls who were taken in. "Are...are none of these women from Kou?" Pisti blinked at him, surprised.

"No, of course not. They have to be citizens of Kina. Why?" Spartos shook his head. He knew Pisti wouldn't like his answer.

"It's just…you know the old prophecy. I thought they would try to…" Pisti's eyes filled with understanding, but she didn't look pleased with it either.

"Oh, that. Pff, no. I think they've given up on that old thing." Spartos nodded, but didn't reply. His country held the prophecies of Solomon in high regards. Even if he didn't believe, he'd never dare voice it out loud. "Besides, I'm glad she's not going to be from Kou," Pisti added to his surprise. "Sinbad is really cool and kou is kind of…spooky." He had to agree. Kou was famous for its strict policies and culture, along with the secrets they guarded to their graves. They had been one of the last countries to join the twelve, to suspicious of others to decide join right away. Even when they did join…Sometimes it seemed like they hadn't.

His inner debate was interrupted by Pisti's observation. "That girl is odd."

"Pisti! Don't be rude!"

"No, I mean…look!"

He glanced through the window once again. The girl Pisti was pointing at was sitting far away from the group. She had dark hair that was being cut by a worker wearing a plain black and white mask. They couldn't see her face, but she was wearing a pale blue dress that fit the style of Kina's royalty. It was made of a very light fabric, and had a light transparent layer over top of a bold blue. But unlike the others girls who were dancing around and laughing in their new gowns while giggling in excitement, she was pulling at the dress awkwardly like she wished to be in different clothes. Instead of speaking to others she had a quill and paper in her hands, writing what appeared to be a long letter. Most…just about all of the girls were absolutely thrilled with where they were. The girl sitting there had her shoulders dropped, separated from the crowd and refusing to indulge in the same activities the other girls were.

Pisti was right. She was odd.

"Princess Pisti? Prince Spartos?" Both of them jumped. Below them on the path was Prince Titus staring up at them in awe. "Um…are you two lost?" They glanced at each other. Neither of them knew the new prince very well. He was more vulnerable with others, though still raised as a prince of the twelve. Talking to him was not exactly their list on things to do.

Better him than Sindria's advisor. They did not want to imagine Jafar's face if he found them.

So instead, Pisti put on an innocent smile when he saw them. "Titus! How are you?" Titus blinked in surprise when she used his first name. Spartos felt his cheeks go red, but he ignored it.

"I'm alright," he replied hesitantly. "What were you doing up there?"

"Oh…we were just…um…" Pisti turned to Spartos for help. While Spartos wasn't the best liar, he could come up with answers quick. Pisti would just have to do the convincing.

"We…were looking for King Sinbad." Titus blinked.

Pisti stuck out her tongue, but at least he'd given her something to work with. "Yeah! King Sinbad is the kind of guy who would spy on a bunch of girls so we thought he might be here. Shameless guy, isn't he?" Spartos resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "But now that I think about it," She paused, really considering what she had said. "He might not be in the palace. Rumor has it that Sinbad has been sneaking his mask off to go to the town," Pisti giggled. Spartos recoiled in shock.

"Pisti! Don't spread rumors like that!" Pisti laughed at his reaction while Titus tipped his head to the side.

"Why would he take his mask off?"

"So no one recognizes him," Pisti explained. "That way he could go around and do whatever he wants, and no one would realize it was him!"

Both of them could see the gleam in his eye at her words. "But it's very dangerous if he slipped up and revealed who he was. And it is certainly not encouraged," He added with a glare in Pisti's direction. The girl just winked back.

Unfortunately, Titus hadn't heard the second part. "Uh-huh. Interesting…going into town…" Oh no.

"Titus, I don't think you-"

"Pisti!" A voice called across the crossway. "Spartos." Both of their blood ran cold.

OH NO.

…

 _They say that there is only two more weeks of this…treatment…then we'll have some celebrations and parties to go to. After that I'll come home right away. Or, I guess we can't go home…Where do you want to go? Perhaps the country of Heliophat? I know you don't like this country brother, so we can leave if you like. We could…_

Hakuei lifted her paper form the page. She didn't know what else to write anymore. 

Nearly every day since she had been brought to the palace she had written to her brother. Since she was stuck inside she had no idea if her letters were actually getting to him. He hadn't written back, but that didn't mean much. He didn't like writing letters, or he would lose track. That didn't mean she wasn't worried. Or, in general, bored.

Her experience at the palace wasn't exactly…pleasant. They had first forced her to come, only giving her a few minutes to grab some things. Then she along with a few girls from her neighborhood met with girls from the town and were locked into a large building for weeks. There she was forced to take bathes in perfume, was set on a strict food schedule, did ridiculous exercises that she was convinced you'd have to be made of rubber to actually complete, and among other things, share a room with two particularly noisy girls. She would have preferred rooming with Sahsa or the calm girl named Toto, but instead she had been bunked with Edda and Brigit. Both girls who loved nothing more than to talk about the splendor of the palace riches and dream about ho 'wonderful' the lady-killer of the seven seas had to be. Half the girls were like Hakuei and didn't care if they were picked, just enjoyed the fact they were in the palace. But for some reason every girl that did care was convinced she would be the next queen.

Hakuei didn't want to be queen. She didn't want the riches or the servants at her every call. She hated the fact that they had insisted on cutting her hair so it was below her shoulders instead of below her waist. The doors were locked every day making her feel more like a prisoner than a guest. Being stuck in a corner of the palace was the last place she wanted to be. She wanted to be with her brother, deciding what would happen next. Where would they go? She couldn't go back to the orphanage. He would leave the minute she got back, she knew it. Starting new didn't sound that bad…they just weren't sure how to do it. They'd never tried it before. Would they leave the country? Or stay and find a place to work? Maybe with Sahsa…They might hire her brother, he was a good worker…Hakuei could find some other place to work at…

"Miss," Hakuei glanced back when her thought was interrupted. "Please turn your head to the right." Hakuei scowled, but did as she asked. It had taken them a long time to finally convince them to let her hair be cut. She still hated the idea. Her brother was going to freak out when he saw her. But apparently they wanted the king of Sindria to have a variety of looks to choose from, and there were too many girls with hair below their waist. It was the style in Kina. While she loved her hair, she didn't care about following the style. So as long as they kept it below her shoulders she said it was alright.

But it wasn't. She hated it.

She was being put on display for a stranger to pick her out or throw her away.

And some of the girls were thrilled about it.

"Aren't they so cute?" Hakuei had no choice but to watch a group of girls giggling by the window. Toya had unwillingly been dragged over by one of her friends. She looked just as miserable as Hakuei felt. A girl with short pink hair and her friend with flaming red hair were sneaking glances out a window. "I like the one with dark hair."

"Do you know who he is?"

"No, but neither do you. What about the boy with blond hair?"

"How can you even tell it's a boy?"

Toya rolled her eyes. "Toyo thinks that it won't matter since they would never reveal their identities. Can Toya go now?" The girls both rolled her eyes. Out of curiosity, and boredom, Hakuei let the hairdresser finish then went to her rescue. As she walked over Toya didn't smile, but she nodded at her presence. "Nice hair."

"Don't patronize me." Toyo smirked. "What are you doing?"

"Check it out!" She pointed out the window. Three masked characters were talking. Obviously they didn't recognize any of them, but it looked like a man, a younger man or possibly women, and a young girl. "I like the one with dark hair. He's cute, and he looks so mature."

"Do you think they're princes and a princess?" The other girl asked.

"Bah! No way! They might be soldiers."

"Who, the little girl?"

Both Toyo and Hakuei begged for the conversation to end mentally. One of the girls glanced outside again. "Oh wait, there's another one!" The three looked outside. A man with long purple hair came strolling across to the group. At the sight of him, both the girls squealed. "WOW! That one is so handsome!"

"How can you tell?" Toyo mumbled. "You can't even see him." Hakuei gave her a weak smile. Toyo lived on one of the remote parts of the town, so the only person she really knew was a girl who loved the palace more than her own home. Or at least acted like it. Secretly Hakuei wondered how homesick they really were. At the orphanage, some children would pretend to be happy, act as if going there was a dream come true. But then, at night, they would cry themselves to sleep.

Sometimes pretending to be alright was a way of coping. Hakuei decided to humor them and sneak a glance. He wore long white robes Hakuei had never seen before. He was fairly tall with an interesting mask to cover his features. What caught her attention was the long purple hair that hung down his back. For a moment, she thought she knew someone with hair that looked like that.

No, wait. No she didn't.

Yes she did.

No, she…no. No she didn't.

What?

Hakuei blinked. What had she been thinking again?

"I certainly hope that the king will be as handsome as he is," one of the girls sighed. "Do you think he's all they make him out to be? One friend I have from Magnustand told me that girls would faint at the sight of him." _How can they faint without seeing his face?_ Hakuei didn't voice her objections out loud.

"Brigid told me that he's the strongest of the 12. Apparently he's the strongest they've had in years!" _How could Brigid know that unless she saw each of them fight?_

Hakuei sighed. Rumors were always like this. Vague enough that you couldn't exactly disprove them, but there was no proof either. They were just wild and crazy enough to get people's attention, make them almost hope they were true just to get something interesting added to their boring lives.

Another voice jumped in. "I'd say that the only one who could really tell us that will be whoever he chooses as his wife, wouldn't you say?" They all turned to face a stranger they had seen before, but never spoken to. She was a girl with long blue hair and bright blue eyes. Hakuei remembered the servants asking to cut her hair the day before, but she had kicked her out of the room screaming. Hakuei had decided she'd liked her. Or was slightly afraid of her. She couldn't decide.

"Hi," Hakuei greeted first. "I'm Hakuei." The girl smiled and took her hand.

"It's nice to meet you," she added with an innocent smile. "I'm really nervous about this whole thing. I mean, they make it out that we are all, like, competing against each other or something. I don't want to fight anyone. This whole place is too freaky already, and I don't want to have to be watching my back against my own roommates to!" All of the girls laughed happily, the tension from the awkward meeting disappearing in an instant. They'd all felt that way at one time, but no one had been brave enough to say it. It was easier opening up to someone who was so honest.

And she looked so innocent. She reminded Hakuei of a child at the orphanage, awkwardly waiting in the corner while the other kids played. Too scared to make friends on her own. She'd always been proud when that one kid finally got the courage to go and meet others. Part of her was proud of the girl in front of her as well. She seemed very nice as the continued to talk. Just another one of the girls.

But then why were alarm bells going off in her head?

"I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name," Hakuei realized. The girl shot her back the kindest, most innocent smile Hakuei had ever seen.

"It's Dunya. Just Dunya."


	11. Making Friends

Making Friends

Alibaba couldn't remember the last time he'd been so afraid.

Yet he also couldn't remember the last time he'd been so excited.

Two days before the dance, the women from the country were all standing in the ballroom. Lady Myers insisted the women needed to practice their manners before the actual ball. So she'd gathered them all to the dancefloor. For the last three hours the women had been practicing dancing, how to speak to royalty and polite table manners. Jafar had insisted that the women be protected, especially since the last attack was still shown with rubble covering where their gym used to be. While he gathered a large group of soldiers, he'd taken Alibaba to the side and asked if he could go to. 'You are the only one other than Sinbad I trust who had a djinn of your own,' he explained. Alibaba had agreed, saying it was because he wanted to be kind to his friend.

In reality he was ecstatic to see the pretty women.

Unfortunately for him it didn't turn out to be what his daydreams had told him it would. While the women were indeed beautiful, the part where he'd gotten to talk to them had been a bit of an overstatement. They were all too busy staring at the grand hall and or giggling to each other to even notice him. That hurt. He thought the masks would make him more noticeable but NOOO. After so long most of the girls had gotten used to the sight of men with masks. Most of them had decided not to talk to any in case it ended up being Sinbad.

Lucky jerk. Next time, Alibaba would volunteer for the wedding.

He was extremely thankful for the mask that covered his red face when the women twirled in their dresses. He noted that none of them were wearing the same dress. The tailors had really outdone themselves. As the women practiced walking to the throne where Sinbad would be to present themselves, Alibaba found himself sitting at a table that had been set up and sneaking a glass of wine. He could see groups of them yawning in disinterest while in line. Really, why did they all have to be presented to the king one at a time? Knowing Sinbad he'd find a way to get to know them all on his own anyway. It was just a waste of time.

As he gulped down a glass of water, he spotted a bright shade of blue out of the corner of his eye. Glancing over he noticed the statue of one of the past kings of Kina, holding his sword high in the air and his mask shone brightly in the sun while…

While Aladdin was perched on the other arm watching the women as he bit down on an apple.

His eyes bugged out of his head. "You!"

"Hi Alibaba!" The boy jumped down from the statue directly in front of Alibaba. His wide grin made Alibaba wonder if he knew exactly how much trouble he'd get in if anyone else had caught him up there. "I missed you!"

Alibaba was less than enthusiastic. "What are you doing kid? How did you get in here? How-Where did you disappear to last time?" The kid shrugged nonchalantly. Alibaba felt his skin crawl. _No one knows the boy. No one would find the body if I…_ "What are you doing here?"

"I told you last time," he blinked like it was obvious. "I will make you a king." Panic shot through him. Alibaba glanced around to make sure no one had heard the boy. Luckily the women were all too busy following their instructions, and the servants too busy with decorating.

"You can't say that," Alibaba shushed him. "That's treason!"

"Is it treason to try and put a better man on the throne?" Aladdin replied just as quickly. "You would be better for Balbaad. Do you even know your brother's plans for soldiers if the war with the Dark Continent becomes a reality?" Automatically Alibaba opened his mouth to argue with him again. But in the next second, his mouth closed just as quickly. He hadn't even been aware his brother had any plans for the war. It seemed like all he wanted to do was fight and win. If he hadn't heard his brother specifically mention a plan for gaining more soldiers, he would have said the boy was crazy. But just a few nights ago in a meeting, his brother had been saying that the whole wedding was pointless.

 _We'll have our soldiers without a king having to marry some civilian,_ he'd spat in disgust. _I'll make sure we have enough._

"…What do you mean?" Alibaba questioned. "What plan?"

Aladdin had to bite his lip so he didn't answer. He wanted to answer, anyone could see that. But for whatever reason, he decided it was wise to keep his opinions to himself. "I'll tell you about that later. Right now I need to make you into a king."

"I've already told you, I'm not a-"

"And to do that," He continued ignoring Alibaba. "You need to make some important allies." Before Alibaba could argue, Aladdin jumped past him to get a better look at the girls crowded at the front. Alibaba wished he could see his expression behind the mask. There was a thoughtful, serious set of his jaw, but his tone was upbeat and happy like he really was just a kid who wanted to play a game. "How about those two?" He glanced over at a pair of girls whispering to each other in the back. The two of them seemed to be pointedly ignoring everything Myers was trying to tell them. One girl had a brown, almost armour like dress, while the other was wearing a very light, almost silk one. "You should go talk to them!"

"What?" Alibaba's mouth dropped open in shock. "No, that's not-Aladdin!" Before he could stop him Aladdin had jumped to his feet and sprinted over to the girls. Neither of them noticed until the boy was right on them.

They both instantly straightened when they saw his mask. "Can we help you?" The girl with darker hair asked.

Aladdin nodded earnestly just as Alibaba caught up to him. "Hi! This is my friend and he's looking for a girlfriend!" The girl's eyes widened. Oh no.

"N-No I'm not!" Alibaba protested, grabbing Aladdin by his arm and pulling him backwards. To the girls he hoped he didn't look as flustered as he felt. "S-sorry about him. H-he's really…ah, he likes teasing Me." the two girls glanced at each other skeptically. Apparently Aladdin had decided to pick two of the only ones who were more cautious than excited to speak to people wearing masks. Perfect. Just perfect.

While still watching him cautiously she replied, "That's…Alright. What's your name? That is-if I may ask?"

Alibaba put on a small smile. He could tell she was struggling to remain calm. Other than the soldiers, he doubted she spoke to anyone wearing a mask. He decided not to make it worse by mentioning that he was a prince. "My name is Alibaba. I'm from Balbaad."

The women's eyes widened slightly. "Alibaba? I have a friend who has that name. I wonder if he's from Balbaad as well…Anyway, my name is Hakuei. It's nice to meet you." Gesturing to her friend she added, "This is Toto."

"Toto doesn't want to be here," The girl replied bluntly. Her dark blue eyes glared daggers into him. "And I don't want to talk to you."

Alibaba tried to ignore the chill in the air. "I…okay…sorry about that…um…" Flustered, he glanced around for some answer to his prayers. Either a good reason to leave or something interesting to talk about that would make him look cool. Aladdin was staring up at him as if to say, _come on Alibaba. You know what to do!_ But he didn't know what to do. The little jerk was the reason he was in that mess and he wasn't doing anything to help him get out of it! "What...What were you talking about?" The two girls glanced at each other while Alibaba mentally begged for lightening to come and strike him dead. Why was he still talking? Abort, Abort!

"The paintings," Toto replied. At Alibaba's blank expression, she tilted her head to the wall behind them. On the wall was a painting of a man surrounded by light. He held a long staff in one hand, and a book in the other with a long blue braid flying behind him. What caught the interest of anyone passing by was the eyes and the book. The eyes were bright red, almost glowing and impossible to look straight at. Out of the book flew different lines, trails of prophecies from long ago that had yet to be answered. The titles led on to different portraits, images of what people believed would come of the prophecies or ones that had come to pass. No one had been able to prove any of them had really happened. No one could prove they hadn't. "Who is that?"

"That? Oh…that's Solomon?"

"Who is Solomon?" Hakuei asked.

"A magician from the past," Alibaba told her. "Legend says his father had the ability to use the rukh around him to see into the future. Solomon stole the eyes from his father so he could see what would happen in the future in order to lead the new generation to a better way of life. Not everyone believes it though, since seeing the future is impossible. But some people believe that the kind of magic he had was beyond something we can understand." Hakuei glanced at the painting, watching the separate prophecies that went onto different interpretations. Alibaba held his breath, hoping they didn't notice the one with Sindria's king. Aladdin on the other hand was watching her carefully. Looking for something that just…wasn't there yet.

"I…Am not sure I believe that."

None of them noticed Aladdin sigh in the background as Alibaba shrugged indifferently. "Personally, I'd like to believe it is true. But not many people do. That's why they decided to make King Sinbad get married, because they wanted to prove the prophecies wrong." At their blank expression he explained that there was a prophecy involving him. "They said that the lines of Sindria and Kou would align and it would start a great age…or something like that. So they decided to make the king marry a citizen of Kina instead of a women from Kou." The members of the twelve had decided to rule that none of the citizens would be told they wanted to align themselves better with the citizens. If they learned that was their reason, they may not agree to it so easily.

Hakuei's eyes roamed over the painting. She did not look terribly interested in the painting itself as much as the story behind it. "Did he-Solomon-guarantee it would happen? That all he said would come to pass?"

"As far as I know the way they've interpreted them now is the only explanation." He raised an eyebrow and glanced at them cautiously. "Um…Do you know if any of the women are from Kou's royal line? Or-No that's crazy-anyone descended from Kou?"

Both girls shook their heads. "No. I've been in Kina for as long as I can remember. I know Sahsa and Leila travel a lot, but I don't know where their parents are from," Hakuei replied. "Unfortunately, I don't know many of the women here. I only met Toto while we were trying to find a quiet room so we could actually get some sleep in the first week."

"I was raised in Parthevia when I was younger, but then Toto's parents moved us to a farm in Kina. I've taken an apprenticeship as a soldier out on the edge of the city," She admitted.

There! An opening! "Oh, you are training as a soldier? You're, ah, probably used to all these masks then." The scowl she sent back at him said she wasn't as willing to start a pleasant conversation as he was. _Why am I even talking to these two girls again?_

"…I've seen a few," She admitted, turning so she was facing Hakuei more than Alibaba. _Yeesh, no respect for a prince…maybe I should have told them I am a prince._ "But only the head soldiers and generals wear masks. The rest of us who do not wear masks are not permitted to come to the palace." Ah. He should have guessed that. Every single soldier who had been placed to guard the palace had to have been trained there from a young age and given a mask immediately after their arrival. Any soldier who didn't have one could only report to the higher soldiers but never stay there.

Hakuei scoffed. The others turned to her in surprise as she tried to cover it up. "What?" She shook her head, cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"I-It's nothing," She hesitated, casting a nervous glance at Alibaba.

He knew that look. "It's alright. You won't get in trouble for talking to me." Both of the girls froze at the suggestion. He'd lived with people who didn't wear masks, so he knew what they were going through. They had no idea what the twelve could do. The rumors that said they were powerful enough to do anything and would do anything. He was surprised they were even talking to him at all. When he'd arrived he hadn't been able to look the soldiers in the eye. He tried for a weak smile. "What's so funny?"

Hakuei hesitated. But when he asked directly, she must have decided that it was safer to do as she was told than avoid him. "It's just…the masks. If you don't wear a mask, you're not even allowed to serve in the palace?" She crossed her arms, trying to avoid eye contact with Alibaba. "T-they just seem ridiculous to me."

"It does get old," Alibaba tried to ease the mood with a laugh. "They can be kind of itchy." In truth they felt the same as his own skin would, but humanizing himself was able to help them relax a bit more.

It was enough encouragement for Hakuei to ask her own question. "I…d-do you know if we…I mean, we won't have to wear those masks, will we?" Though she tried to hide it, he could see her skin crawl every time she took another glance at his mask. "They…don't look comfortable." He doubted she would go into any more detail.

"It's not really up to me but Jafar-Ah, he's the man who's organizing most of this," he pointed to Jafar walking with two of the chefs in the corner. "He mentioned to me that they are already working on making a mask for the bride. But they are only making one, so I'm assuming that it's just for the women he picks." He pretended not to notice Hakuei sigh in relief.

"I see. At least that's not an issue." Hakuei glanced at the group of girls, one girl at the front twirling in her dress. "I've got a one out of…what, one out of a hundred chance of being that person? I think I'll be okay." So that was one person who wouldn't be trying very hard to be the next Mrs. Sinbad. Judging from the other girls, he doubted that would be a problem in terms of numbers.

Out of curiosity he turned to Toto. "What about you? Are you excited to be wearing that mask?" While he expected a scowl, he actually got a guilty frown. She couldn't meet his gaze as she started fiddling with her dress as if they were it most interesting material she'd ever seen.

"That…will not be happening." She paused, as if the seconds that passed would change something drastic. As it turned out it was her decision to confide in them that changed. "Toto's actually…in a relationship."

Alibaba blinked. "R-really?" _darn it!_ "But…then why are you here? I thought the guards made sure that all the women were single…"

"Toto lied," She told him bluntly. "I knew I wouldn't be chosen, so I didn't worry. But…I wanted to see the palace. They talk about it all the time at the training grounds…There are rumors about what the members of the 12 are like…I knew it wasn't a good idea but I got curious. In the end I just wanted to see what was true and what wasn't." Hakuei pursed her lips at the idea, but she kept her mouth shut.

Alibaba laughed lightly. "Well, I can say that most rumors aren't true." For a second Toto looked at him like she was going to rip his throat out. Then, slowly, one corner of her mouth tipped up.

"You seem nice," Toto begrudgingly admitted. "Perhaps when Toto goes home, I'll introduce you to Olba. I get the feeling you two would get along."

Alibaba tried to hide his surprise at the offer. "I…yeah. That sounds nice. I'll be looking forward to that."

"Great!" All three of them jumped. They'd forgotten that Aladdin was even there. "It was nice to meet you two ladies, but Alibaba and I need to go and destroy a mountain or two." The girl's both stared at him while Alibaba prayed for the sweet release of death. "I'm just kidding! It was nice to meet you Toto," he nodded to her. "Hakuei." She smiled politely, but Aladdin kept his eyes on her. "I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Um…yeah, sure." Aladdin nodded, then grabbed Alibaba by the arm and physically dragged him away.

Both girls watched as Alibaba struggled not to fall from the smaller boy's grasp. For such a young kid, he certainly had a strong grip. "What did you think of them?" he questioned as they walked.

"T-they seemed nice I guess," Alibaba admitted. "But why did you have to introduce me to them? What was the point?"

"They may not seem important now," Aladdin stated. "But they will be important in the future. To you, and to the safety of the countries. All of them." Alibaba frowned skeptically. He considered arguing how two girls couldn't have been that important to millions of people. But the more important thing that he wanted to ask was why he was so sure about it. How could he have known what would happen to the two of them in the future? Or any of them? Saying you did was the same as saying you could interpret all the prophecies of Solomon. Some countries considered that blasphemy, while others just thought it was impossible. What made him so sure he knew Alibaba would be a good king anyway? He hardly knew him. They were strangers.

"What about me is going to be so special?"

"Because," Aladdin stated. "You're going to be the king that my father couldn't be himself."


	12. Attack at the Dance

Attack at the Dance

 **HI everyone! I actually started my first year of university, so I've been really busy! Sorry this is late, and I hope its good enough to make up for the time waiting.**

Sinbad had experienced the worst month of his life. It was cruel, unusual torture.

Why bring in all those beautiful girls for him if he wasn't even allowed to see any of them?

Once or twice he considered taking off the mask and sneaking in, but he knew that was too risky. If he got caught, either he would be charged as an unauthorized civilian in the palace, or admit who he was. THAT would end badly. Not a single girl who had been brought he'd been able to visit. Jafar insisted to, 'give them all a fair chance. You'll see them at the ball!' Sinbad hadn't actually told him the reason why he'd really agreed.

Part of him couldn't believe he'd actually agreed to the whole thing. Truth was he hadn't even been able to see if it was worth it or not.

He hadn't heard from Hakuei at all. At first he'd been annoyed, considering that he was going have to go through a whole lot because of her. Her leg had better not only be fixed, but she'd better be able to run a marathon. Then he remembered he'd never given her any way to contact him. 'Ali' had no address. 'King Sinbad' was a stranger who she was going to try and marry. If nothing else at least it would be entertaining to see how she tried to flirt with him. Part of him was just a bit too excited for that. The suspense was killing him. But more than that, he just wanted to see all the beautiful women.

When the day finally came, he was not disappointed.

At the moment though he was satisfied taking in the beautiful violet-haired women with dark skin and a lovely golden dress that left little to the imagination. What had her name been…Shelia? "It truly is an honor to meet you my king," the girl gave him a sultry smile as she tried to maintain what others might see as a normal conversation. "I've never actually met someone with a mask before. This is all so spectacular. Thank you for this great opportunity."

Sinbad put on a charming smile that melted the women instantly. "I'm honored you were able to come," he replied, knowing they had no choice. "I'm sure this has all been very overwhelming for you," He sympathized while taking her hand in his. "Trust me, we aren't all as scary as the stories make us out to be."

It took the women a moment to reply, her cheeks flushing at the sudden contact. "I-Is it true that you once traveled to a kingdom made entirely of ice?"

It took all his willpower not to chuckle. That was the third time one of the women had asked him that during the one evening.

After she left Sinbad couldn't keep his grin off his face. He had already made plans to see her later that night. While Jafar definitely wasn't going to be happy with how he was treating what was supposed to be a selection, Sinbad was having the time of his life. The dance was a complete success as far as parties went. Everyone was enjoying themselves, the dance floor was almost always full and the place was so lively it rivaled one of Sindria's feasts. The women had been introduced to him earlier in the evening, mostly just passing while they introduced themselves. Since there were so many of them it was too quick for Sinbad to really get their names. It was no problem for him as he was able to make friends with just about everyone. He'd already forgotten that he was supposed to be looking for someone. Instead he focused on enjoying himself to the fullest.

"You seem to be having fun." Sinbad snapped out of his reverie to see the Emperor of Kou standing at his side. At least he thought it was the emperor. He was wearing the same mask, but seeing Sinbad had never seen the man's face the magic concealed his identity. He just had to trust it was the emperor. But his robes were not the ones Sinbad usually saw him in. He wore what looked like a functional armor, only the breastplate and the sword at his hilt with a red robe to finish the look. Sinbad guessed he was trying to be formal as well as threatening to the guests.

Sinbad did his best not to let his thoughts betray him. "Of course I'm having a good time! Aren't you?" The emperor frowned at him behind the mask.

"King Sinbad, the kingdom of Kina and all our officials didn't put in all this work just so you can have a party. You are supposed to be picking a wife from one of the citizens. Preferably one who has a lot of influence over the people." Sinbad sighed deeply. Perhaps it was because he didn't know the emperor on a personal level, but he'd never seen the man take a break.

"You can't rush these things emperor," Sinbad laughed while he slung one arm around the man's shoulders. "If I'm to pick the perfect wife, don't you think that will take some time?"

"We don't have time," the emperor told him through clenched teeth. "King Sinbad, in case you weren't informed we were attacked directly from a man from the Dark Continent,"

"And he destroyed one of the dojo's as well as injured many," Sinbad finished for him. "Yes, I heard. But that was over a month ago, and since then we've heard nothing. We have time, and I suggest we take advantage of that. We don't want to make the wrong choice now, do we?" The emperor didn't smile. Sinbad was already growing tired of his attitude. It was a party, why did he have to be so formal? He doubted even if he knew who he was behind the mask that they would ever be good friends. "For now, try and take a load off. Go meet some girls, get yourself a date for the night!"

The emperor shook his head stubbornly. "They are here to be chosen by you."

"Well I can't marry all of them!" Sinbad laughed loudly. Maybe he was a little drunk. Either way, Kouen was to sober for his tastes. "I'm going to go back to mingling. You should go take a drink! Or a few!" Before the emperor could stop him Sinbad dashed away and back into the crowd. If he had tried to chase him Sinbad didn't notice.

Instead he focused on the sights before him. Many couples were dancing to their hearts content. He spotted princess Yamu sitting with the king Armkan. It was hard to tell their expressions through their masks as they conversed-but Sinbad had a bet his friend Sharkkon would be taking a few extra drinks that night. He made a mental note to ask his friend about that next chance he got. The crowds all parted for him, giving him perfect view of the girls who twirled and pretended not to notice him while desperately tried to get his attention. He noticed a few girls had decided not to bother with trying to get his attention anymore-if ever. That was fine. He still had plenty women to choose from.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught the sight of something red. When he focused on it he realized it was a women wearing a long red dress that would rival the beauty of a rose. In that dress was a women with shiny black hair, trimmed neatly down to her shoulders. She was more on the thin side, but had a bit of muscle. Perhaps she was a farmer? The dress had traps that went around her neck, revealing her shoulders and part of her back. Her skin was fairly light, dashing the farmer theory. She didn't see enough sun to be a farmer. It did catch his attention the scars that jarred her back and bare arms. He didn't know what she would have done to get those. She was turned away from him, sitting to have a drink with a women with dark hair and a light dress. As the women moved her leg to get more comfortable, Sinbad caught a glance at her leg.

There was a long scar down the side.

If he was a betting man, he'd say that was Hakuei. Last he checked her hair had been down below her waist, but now it was shorter than his. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine her wearing what he considered a daring dress compared to her usual attire. He doubted she had much choice in her clothes, which he was grateful for.

 _Well,_ Sinbad smirked to himself. _While she's here….I might as well have some fun._

Sinbad made his way through the crowd towards where she sat. Hakuei was turned away from him, but the women she was speaking to caught sight of him approaching. Her eyes widened and her jaw fell stiff when she recognized him. He had to hide the smirk as Hakuei tried to get her friends attention. Sly like a fox he slid up next to her. Before think of a better plan he reached out his hand towards her.

"May I have this dance?"

* * *

May I have this dance? Did people really say that? Hakuei had always assumed it was just, 'would you like to dance,' or 'how about we go dance?' at least that's how the girls back at the orphanage had described it. When Hakuei went on dates it was usually just to eat or a walk through town. Dancing was never very…appealing.

When she looked up to say this aloud, she snapped her mouth shut. Best to not try and correct a king.

The man who wore the mask of the king of Sindria stood above her, one hand outstretched for her to take. Purple and gold, with elegant designs framing the eyes and waves on the right eye. That was what they had said his mask looked like. He wore white robes that were lined with gold, civil enough to be formal but fitting enough to show off his muscles just a bit. One hand was outstretched towards her and when she realized that she felt like she was going to have a heart attack.

"I…Thank you, but no."

King Sinbad tilted his head to the side. "No?" Darn it. Had she insulted the king? Great move. She wanted to leave, but not in a body bag.

"I-I mean, I can't dance. T-toyo here can dance if you like!" Toyo stared at her. It didn't take an expert to read her thoughts. _Why are you dragging me into this?_

The smile on the king's face was meant to be disarming, but sent chills up her spine. "I'll lead. That way, there is no issue." Hakuei felt an issue. A very big issue.

She did NOT want to dance with a stranger who could kill her in an instant.

If they were back in her town, she would have known what to do. Saying no would have been easy. She would have just rejected the offer, and if he didn't go away, she would find her friends and leave. But the palace? That was different. She could feel all the eyes on her, waiting for her to accept his hand. Even Toto was watching her, knowing that a lot weighed on how she responded. Hakuei wasn't used to situations like that, where every action had a valuable consequence.

She decided, until she knew more, she may as well play it safe.

"Of…Of course king Sinbad," She took his hand. A small smile played his lips as she allowed him to pull her to her feet. "I-I am Hakuei," she announced when she couldn't think of anything else to say.

The man just smiled back. "I know." She decided not to question how. Smoothly he took her by the hand and led her to the dancefloor. At first she thought he would stop at an empty space at the edge, but she was shocked when the people began to move out of his way so he could get to the middle. She could easily identify the civilian women from the royal ones from the lack of masks, all dancing equally on the dancefloor. Part of her knew that that evening may be the only time in centuries when commoners were allowed to be so close to members even related to those of the court. She wondered if that night would be told for generations to come. If so, she'd better behave. She didn't want to be remembered, put down in a history book she'd never get to read.

Snapping her out of her thoughts, Sinbad drew her into him like the sea would roll back a wave. One of his hands held hers while the other wrapped around to hold the small of her back. Automatically she followed suit and put her free hand on his shoulder. His smile was like fire, with the potential to burn but impossible to ignore. "Just step where I step," he invited, slowly leading her in a dance. Not so much as a dance as it was them gliding across the floor. She'd expected the king of Sinbad to be quite an elaborate dancer, but either way she was graceful he didn't show it. She would never be able to keep up.

On the other hand, the slow dance left plenty of space to be filled with conversation. "So Hakuei…what do you think of the castle?" Hakuei was very aware of every place they touched. His arm around her waist and back, her hand in his the times their knees and chest bumped together as they moved. Each touch felt like ice, unavoidable and freezing to the touch.

"I-it's beautiful," Hakuei replied, trying to be as polite as possible. "I-I've never seen a place quite so grand."

She could feel him chuckle as she was pushed closer to his chest to avoid falling. "Yes, I've seen the place you live. The…Orphanage, correct? Compared to that I'm sure many things would look grand."

Hakuei felt her heart rate increase. How did he know where she came from? Some of the children back at the orphanage could be forced to obey with the fear that the twelve knew all and would come down on them if they misbehaved. While she knew it was ridiculous, a part of her couldn't help but wonder how much they really could see of them. Did they in fact know all there was to know about their citizens?

"There's no reason to be so nervous Hakuei," Sinbad advised her with a smile. "I don't bite. Most of the time," he added with a slight smirk. Hakuei was too nervous to do anything but smile back at him. She was not reassured. The man in front of her was powerful, she knew. Yet what he could do? What he was capable of? She didn't know. And that made it even worse. Most of the women who approached him willingly ignored the danger, deciding to focus on the power as a positive. Pretend that it wasn't a very real possibility that he would turn on them at any given moment and they could do nothing to stop him. Others probably found his smile charming, his mask warm and kind.

She found his mask cold. Uninviting. Terrifying.

"I must say Hakuei," Sinbad purred while sliding her closer to him. She had to look up to meet his eyes. There was a glint in his eyes that sent a cold seat down her spine. "You certainly look quite dashing tonight." Hakuei had to forcibly bite down the scoff that built up in her throat.

Instead she forced herself to smile. "Thank you."

"Did you get all dressed up for me?" He asked with a wicked curve to his smile. There was almost a mocking tone to his voice, which fueled her anger. He must have known she wouldn't be able to say anything back to him. The fact that he was the kind who would take advantage of that meant she had to be even more careful than she originally thought.

"I…I suppose so." It wasn't a lie. They had dressed all the girls to hopefully match the king's interests.

He must have known this, for her answer didn't please him as much as it would someone else. "Have you been enjoying your stay at the palace? I trust that our doctors and caretakers and been taking care of you nicely." Instinctively she moved her leg further under the fold of her dress. Though they had tried the doctors said the scars from the glass would never heal. Normally she wouldn't have cared, but she had no idea how flaws and imperfections would be treated at the palace.

"Yes. Everyone here has been very kind."

Out of the corner of her eye Hakuei noticed the young, blue-haired boy she had met earlier with the man named Alibaba. He wasn't sitting at a table, or dancing with a group. Actually she spotted him sitting at one of the windows, out of sight while he watched the crowd. But while she noticed him he wasn't paying attention to her. Instead he was scowling through the mask at one of the women who was talking to the soldiers. Hakuei recognized her as Dunya.

After some time Dunya noticed the attention. Swiftly she turned to meet the boys gaze, and he did not look away. For a minute they just stared at each other, taking in the sight of one another.

Then, slowly, a dark smile stretched across Dunya's face. The boy scowled.

"…Who is the young boy who wears the sea monster mask?" Hakuei asked, forgetting about her fear.

The king frowned at her. "What mask?"

"The green one, it makes him look like a monster?" She told him while keeping an eye on the boy at the windowsill. "I had met him earlier…but he never told us his name." Hakuei didn't notice the king's smile deepen.

"There isn't anyone who wears a mask like that," he told her firmly. "Unless you mean one of the masks of Sasan?" He'd never heard one of their masks described like that, but it was the closest thing he could think of.

"No, not those masks," Hakuei shook her head. "The one,"

She never got too finish.

The great window shattering to pieces made it hard for her to get the words out.

Of course, following the crash, the screams came first. Women and men screamed alike as soldiers tried to yank civilians out of the range of the glass shards. Hakuei felt herself being pulled closer to the king for her protection as well. "What's happening?" Hakuei blurted. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Toto snatching a sword from one of the knights while soldiers began to prepare for battle. A low growl came from the king, placing one protective arm around Hakuei's shoulders. She hardly noticed as her eyes widened to see the grounds shaking, littered with shards of glass that sparkled from the light of the moon. Naively, Hakuei though the glass shattering was the end of it.

Then a large animal was launched through the window.

Somehow, there were even more screams than before. The creature looked like a giant squid. A sickly green with four eyes and a large long tentacles, more than Hakuei could count. A sick oozing slime seeped into the floor underneath it. When it opened it's large, round mouth it revealed three lines of sharp jagged teeth that went all the way around its mouth. Staring at it made it seem like it was growing by the minute. Every roar was like being drenched in acid, every nerve stood on end and boiled as if hit from extreme heat.

And that was before it attacked.

In an instant one of its many tentacles crashed down to the right. The long banquet table was smashed to pieces and people hurled themselves out of the way of the wreckage. Hakuei could hear the sickening chunk of people being unable to avoid the wooden shards. Over the screaming she could hear soldiers and generals calling their men to attention. Hakuei's eyes automatically scanned the crowd, looking for an ally. The blue haired boy and Dunya were nowhere to be found. She couldn't see Toto, but she caught a glimpse of Prince Alibaba running to aid the fallen soldiers.

At her side Sinbad kept a tight grip on her shoulders. "Stay by my side," He whispered into her ear. "It will be fine." She twirled her head around to stare at him in disbelief.

"How can you say that? What are you going to do against that…that thing?" Hakuei couldn't even give it a name. She had never seen or heard of a creature that looked like that. "Where did that thing come from?"

"I wish I could give you an answer," Sinbad muttered to her rushing panic. "But that's not important. We can deal with this easily." She seriously doubted that. From the looks of it even those wearing masks couldn't protect themselves from the onslaught of the creature. Soldiers were gathering arms, but they weren't getting anywhere close. They best they got was when they reached the injured, but the large creature wouldn't let anything get within one tentacle length of it. It let out another ear-piercing howl as its arm was flung towards the ground.

And then the tentacle was torn off.

Somehow the howl it let out after that was even worse than the one before. A dark purple liquid replaced the place that the tentacle had been attached to the body. The sight of it made Hakuei think she was turning green. Her attention was diverged when she caught sight of the person who had done the damage. A man wearing a mask that almost looked like a snake slashed at the creature once again. It let out a bellow as two more tentacles were cut to the ground. Somehow, Hakuei barely noticed. Her attention was on the sword in the stranger's hand.

It was glowing. The sword was surrounded by a white light.

As if the sword itself was on fire.

In a desperate attempt to stay alive, the creature swung out at the man again. He was able to dodge the one at his leg, but he hadn't noticed the one coming to his face. He was hit across the face, and sent flying backward into the wall. He landed with a crash, then slumped to the floor, mask somehow unharmed. Hakuei noticed a women also wearing a mask with blue hair trying to rush to his side, but was held back by another man wearing a mask similar to the first. Her attention was quickly torn away as the king grabbed her by the arms yanked her out of the way of a tentacle crashing down. The ground she had just stood on one moment ago was rubble. "W-what should I do?" Hakuei asked, fearing for her life.

The king's chuckle sound taunting in her ears. "Don't panic. I've dealt with many creatures like this before." Hakuei hoped he was joking. She DEFINITELY didn't want to be chosen anymore. Not that she ever did. Behind the mask his eyes flickered to another crash at the doors as he pulled Hakuei closer to protect her himself. She didn't get a chance to see what had happened, but could hear the screams of people around her.

Somehow, some of them had become cheers.

"And it looks like the cavalry is here," Sinbad whispered into her ear. Hakuei tried to move away from him to see who had arrived, but he yanked her closer. "You might not want to watch this part." Hakuei didn't know what he meant by 'this part.' It bugged her that he assumed she couldn't take whatever was going to happen.

Even while her eyes were covered however she could hear a sickening 'ch-chunk.' A bright blue light surrounded what little vision she had.

Then the roars of the creature were replaced by a deafening silence.

Slowly, the king allowed Hakuei the chance to breathe again. She looked back to the scene in shock. The creature-the one that had been terrorizing them only a few seconds ago-was cut clean in half, unmoving. People were rising to their feet, trying to see what had just happened. "What…what was that?"

At her side, the king of Sindria smirked. "I'll explain later."

The king had turned away from the creature, and Hakuei followed his eyes. It was only then she noticed that a new group had come into the ballroom. A small group, made of about ten soldiers. All wore masks of porcelain white that held the shapes of what looked like sea creatures. Each of them had bright blue hair and wore heavy clothing unsuitable for the climate. The women at the front was much taller than the rest, probably even taller than King Sinbad. She stood at the front, a trident in one hand and the other protectively raised in front of the others. When Hakuei came to the realization that her weapon was the reason for the light she only noticed it when the light had started to fade out. She held the trident just as the others did, as if it was a regular weapon. Hakuei couldn't spot what she could have possibly done to have made that light or to destroy the creature with something so small. The creature had been cut in half…by one small trident?

The first ones to speak were two men on the far side of the room. "What idiocy…How did this creature get in here?" The man wearing a golden mask with short yellow hair turned on another with a black mask covering half his face and pointy black hair. "This is the second attack! Does the kingdom of Kina not have proper defenses?"

"My kingdom's defenses are fine!" The man shouted back. "I didn't see you doing anything to stop it."

"What was I supposed to do," The man barked back. "We didn't think we would need to bring our weapons! No one brought any!

"Prince Sharkkon was the only one who had brought his metal vessel to the dance," The king with the snakeskin mask replied. "If he thought of it, why couldn't you Prince Nerva?" The man who wore a mask made of gold glowered back at him. If the newest arrival hadn't spoken up, Hakuei would have seen quite an interesting fight break out.

"Gentlemen, please." The women spoke with a warm, comforting voice despite the scene around her. "No one could have predicted this was going to happen. Pointing fingers at one another will do nothing for anyone." Slowly the three men's anger died down. Others in the room were calmed by the control she held in her voice. A silent reassurance that it was just a mistake and everything was going to be okay.

Beside her, King Sinbad chuckled. "It certainly is lucky for us that you arrived when you did queen Rumuru." He moved past Hakuei and the crowd to approach the queen. Slowly she turned to meet his gaze. A small smile reached her lips when she saw his friendly mask. One that she knew the face that lay behind. For him that same reassurance wasn't there. The mask may have looked the same, but Sinbad knew it wasn't. The magic had been reapplied.

He couldn't remember Rumuru's true face.

Ignoring the sting that went through his heart he strolled up to her. "It is good to see that you are well queen Rumuru."

"You as well dear Sinbad," The queen greeted his approach with a kind smile. "Though I wish they were under different circumstances." It was only then that she noticed the excessive amount of young girls shifting nervously around the edges of the dance floor. "And it appears you have been up to your old tricks while I have been gone. Dear king Sinbad, haven't we talked about this?"

Despite the serious situation, Sinbad was able to let out a bold laugh which slowly eased the tension in the room. "This isn't like what happened back in the Toran tribe Rumuru, I promise. I learned my lesson from then."

Rumuru nodded while ignoring the many stares. She was used to them by then. "I should hope so. Three at once would be too many even for you dear king." Hakuei decided she was thankful for how vague she had decided to be with that comment. Through her beautifully carved ivory mask the queen spotted the young women watching them awkwardly from behind. She did not wear a mask like most women of the court, and her positioning was far too clumsy for her to have been from noble birth. The mask concealed her raised eyebrow at Sinbad. There were many rules that anyone in the court should not be allowed to enter without a mask. As she noticed her she also noticed the other women were not wearing masks. Apparently there was much she had missed because of her late arrival.

She decided to leave it for the time. Instead she turned back to the corpse of the creature, taking a more serious side to the conversation. "Was that not a creature of the dark continent? It looks like one you described from your travels."

"It was. Though how it got here, I have no idea."

"I doubt it got here on its own."

"Would you say this was a planned attack?"

"Looks like a threat more than an attack to me," Prince Alibaba muttered under his breath. All eyes turned to where he stood, holding a wounded man up by his shoulders. When he realized others had heard him he hurried to explain. "I mean, we know they are capable of more than this, right? Why would they do this just to cause a scene, then leave? And for that matter, why now? They already got our attention earlier. And to send a monster in instead of attack us themselves just…It doesn't fit." They? Hakuei had no idea who 'they' was. But Sinbad and the queen gave each other a knowing look, making her think she was one of the only ones left out of the loop. At the side a shorter man wearing elegant robes but was short in stature and wide in weight was glowering at Alibaba dangerously. Apparently he'd said more than he was supposed to.

"Well," The queen said, straightening her posture so they could all hear, though she only directly addressed king Sinbad. "I suppose there has been quite a bit of excitement for the evening. Our guests should be released to recover from the night." She paused, taking in the guests and the number of women not wearing masks. "What exactly was the occasion of this dance may I ask?"

There was a slight cringe in his voice when he answered. "The…council and I decided it was time I chose a wife. For…a number of reasons."

Her eyebrows raised from behind the mask. "Did you now?" The tone in her voice showed that she knew there was more to that story than met the eye. King Sinbad getting married? It couldn't be that simple. "Very well. I would like to hear more about those reasons when you get the chance." While she didn't expect an answer she asked, "Have you chosen your bride already?"

He hadn't thought he had. In his head he had been planning to put of deciding for as long as he could. But a direct attack in the palace, where all of the kings and queens were staying was not going to pass easily. The council of twelve would definitely be on edge. They would want to take action right away. Many would be panicked, confused about a situation they didn't know how to deal with and were unprepared for. He couldn't leave there without giving them some kind of reassurance that something was being done. That one of their plans was at least in motion so they would not be left completely unprepared.

So instead, he tipped his head to the side and smiled. "Of course. Would you like to meet her?"

There were a few collective gasps in the crowd. The emperor of Kou ran over the conversation he'd had with the man earlier, finding no signs that he had actually found a bride. Some of the women in the crowd started brushing their hands through their hair, hoping that it was them while trying to fight back the odds that it wasn't. The majority of the women just glanced at each other in turn, trying to figure out which of them had been chosen, knowing it couldn't have been them. Some girls sighed in relief, having been afraid of being chosen and were thankful they had yet to meet the man. Sinbad ignored the stab to his pride with that. He could feel Jafar staring at him from where he stood. Even he hadn't truly expected Sinbad to go along with everything. He must have been expecting Sinbad would try and find a way out of it or put it off until they had another option. _I'm just as surprised as you are,_ Sinbad thought to himself.

The queen was the first to recover her surprise from his statement. "…I would be delighted to meet her King Sinbad."

The king wasted no time. After giving her a polite bow, he turned and pushed his way through the crowd, the queen on his tail. Most backed away, leaving him a clear path to his destination. Some tried to get in his way hoping they were his destination, but he just slipped past them. He slid through the crowd searching until he found her trying to move out of his way, expecting he would continue. To her surprise he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the spotlight. Turning back to the queen he pulled the startled women with him.

"Queen Rumuru," King Sinbad began. "I'd like to introduce you to Hakuei from Kina. My fiancée."


	13. New Friends

New Friends

"Well," Sharkkon whistled to himself. "That escalated quickly."

He was referring to, of course, the large poster that hung on the great wall to the palace. Written in fine ink from about one week ago, 'King Sinbad to be married to Kina citizen! Wedding of the century!" Sharkkon doubted

From what he'd seen of the two he doubted it was going to be much of a celebration for them. The girl-whatever her name was again. Stupid poster didn't know it- had been dumbstruck when Sinbad had announced her as her bride. Poor girl hadn't said a thing the whole night, just nodded politely at people around her. Sinbad had laughed, put his arm around her shoulder and catered to the crowd. After a while though Sharkkon could tell the difference between a generally happy Sinbad and one happy for the crowd. He hadn't picked her because he'd wanted to, it had been a calculated choice.

Making a guy who never want to marry live with someone who was terrified at the thought? Yeah, drinks all around.

Sharkkon knew he should go visit Sinbad. It had been nearly a week since he last saw him. Besides, someone had to plan the bachelor party, since he knew Jafar wasn't going to do it.

Everyone in the council had questions, but they didn't say them out loud. At least not during the meetings. No one wanted to admit to the others that they truly didn't know what was going on, that they were clueless as to who attacked them or if it even was an attack. So they continued on, carefully dodging the questions that could simply be answered if someone had swallowed their pride and admitted their ignorance. But no one did. Because no one wanted to look vulnerable in front of the twelve.

Sometimes Sharkkon wondered if things really would be different if they weren't allied. Probably not.

"Brother." Sharkkon turned from the poster to catch his brother, flanked by one guard wearing a bird mask and his regular assistant. Sharkkon decided it was best not to mention he'd forgotten the guy's name. Armakan strolled over to Sharkkon's side, paying no attention to the bow of respect he sent him. "What are you doing here by the palace walls?"

"I'm just taking a walk my king," he told his brother through clenched teeth. "Is that a crime?"

The guard and assistance sent each other a glance. Armakan pretended not to notice his brother's attitude. That had been how things were for nearly two years now. They had finally started having some success towards trusting each other. Sharkkon had even considered showing his brother his true face.

Then it was all gone.

"Of course not," Armakan shook his head. His eyes trailed through the mask to the poster on the wall. Unlike Sharkkon, Armakan had gained a twinge of respect for Sinbad when he'd made his choice. It was quick, it had its problems, but it was a sacrifice to his own life in order to help the many. Perhaps Armakan could understand that better than anyone. "While it is good to see you brother, I was actually looking for someone else. Have you seen my fiancée?" His what-

Oh. Yamu.

Two years ago the king of magnustand had come to Heliophat with a proposition. The two countries were the highest ranked for products and inventions, which meant more sales and more wealth for the countries in a whole. The only problem was Heliophat had a problem with transportation since the country was located far from the rest of the twelve, and Magnustand did not have easy access to the resources that they needed. The king proposed an alliance beyond the one of the twelve, so that their countries would be aligned and their trades become one, with would benefit both countries in the long run. Armakan agreed readily, and proposed an idea to strengthen the alliance. Sharkkon had assumed it would be sending soldiers of Heliophat to Magnustand or perhaps meeting the two families once a month.

Instead he'd seen it fitting to have a permanent residence in Heliophat. And so he proposed a marriage to the king's only daughter.

Sharkkon had hated him ever since.

"How should I know where Yamu is? She's your fiancée, isn't she?" _For some reason,_ Sharkkon mumbled in his head. _You could have easily suggested anything else. ANYTHING else. But it was your idea to marry Yamu, and you don't even like her! It's all just politics to you._ For his own sake he decided not to say any of that out loud. When Armakan's eyes narrowed and Sharkkon panicked, thinking something had slipped out.

"Perhaps it would be wise for you to not refer to Princess Yamuriha so informally." Sharkkon's eyes widened.

"We've been friends since we were kids! I've been calling her that before you two even met!" Of course, Armakan knew that. And that was where the personal problems of his situation came in.

"Regardless, I am the eldest which means I must marry Lady Yamuriha for the alliance, not you. It may raise some unwanted questions." _Of course it would,_ Sharkkon grumbled. _This whole situation raises quite a few unwanted questions._ Armakan watched his brother cautiously, wondering if he could possibly be more obvious with his thinking even if he had taken off his mask. "…As you know, the princess and I are to marry when we return to Heliophat."

Sharkkon felt his left eye twitch. "Uh Huh. I'm thrilled for you." Honestly, could his brother be a worse actor?

Armakan was less than convinced. "Brother….I know you and the princess-"

"I don't care," he insisted. "Heck, what bothers me the most is that I'll have to deal with her more. Having to see her whenever I go for a council meeting is one thing. Now I have to see her every time I come home to? Gah!" Sharkkon huffed and crossed his arms in protest. Armakan opened his mouth to pursue the topic, but slowly decided against it. They could have that conversation later.

"Very well." Quickly he returned to the topic at hand. "A guard said she was looking for Sphintus," Armakan told him with his regular aloof expression. He turned to look up to the sky, as if Sharkkon wasn't even there. _I'm standing here, not floating in the sky brother. Seriously, why does he do that?_ Sharkkon fumed silently. "He was a magician who trained in Magnustand and became a friend with her during his lessons. Have you seen the healer recently?"

"The kid with the white snake mask with the healers symbol? Last I saw him he was with that other guy." Armakan frowned, turning back to face his brother.

"What other guy?"

"You know the guy. The one with long blonde hair? His countries having the election."

His answer just made his brother's frown deepen. "Why on earth would our healer have gone with…Prince Titus?"

* * *

"This is amazing!"

"Will you shut up?" Sphintus hissed, sending furtive glances around them. "Don't be so loud, you'll attract attention!"

Titus didn't care. He'd never felt so free. He wanted to dance through the streets of the city and sing at the top of his lungs. He was in a town. An actual town, not with soldiers and politicians or kings and queens. But one with vendors and children running in the streets and fishermen heading off for the day. It was a regular town, with regular people!

And Titus wasn't wearing his mask.

"We are just here to look, not put on a show for the townspeople," Sphintus urged him. "Do you want to get caught? What do you think will happen if we get caught without our masks? What will happen to me? Oh man, I heliophat people get hanged for this." Truth be told, Sphintus wasn't exaggerating. In Heliophat removing a mask in public was considered a serious offence, one that he doubted the king would be able to escape the consequences. As for Titus, he was about to run an election to become the king of his country. If anyone from his countries government learned that he and Sphintus had snuck out of the palace and removed their masks and put on villager clothes he may have been banished. No one would ever trust him to keep any important secrets, much less let him become a king.

But it was worth it. Titus had never felt more alive. "Look Sphintus! They are selling apples! And bananas and kiwi!" Titus slipped out of Sphintus's grasp as he danced over to the other side. "And look here! Oh I don't even know what kind of store this is!"

"It's a clothing store Titus."

"A clothing store!"

"Titus, come on," Sphintus urged him to at least lower his voice. "I still don't know why I agreed to come on this stupid trip! All you want to do is look at regular stuff! Shouldn't you be getting ready for your election now anyway?"

The prince just shrugged, to absorbed in the sights to care. "What better way than by getting to know the people?"

"These aren't your people! And they don't even know it is you!" Sphintus slapped his forehead in exasperation. "Where did you get this crazy idea anyway?"

Titus had decided to keep his two royal friends anonymous. Just in case. Better not throw them under the bus in case they got caught. Then it would be four countries with missing members, not just two. Though Sphintus wasn't technically royalty, he was still one of his countries lead healers. He wasn't sure how much power that actually gave him. He'd never thought to ask and at the moment, he didn't care. He didn't want to talk about power over the people or royal standing.

They were in a regular village. A place with normal people who got to live everyday lives. It was an adventure, it was magnificent! The people had no idea how blessed they truly were! Titus wanted to explore far and wide. "Sphintus look!" He pointed towards a large statue that was raised in the town square. "Who do you think that is?"

Sphintus glanced at the statue and snickered. "Probably their interpretation of the king." Pretty bad one at that. He was an old man, with a sword in both hands, wearing only a loincloth and the largest most ridiculous mask he had ever seen. And was that fire surrounding him? He didn't know much about the king of Kina but he knew he didn't control fire, he put it out.

"Not that," Titus rushed away from him. "That!" Sphintus looked away from the statue to try and catch what it was that Titus was so enraptured over. Then he saw it.

A cat.

He was making a fuss.

Over a cat.

"Look at its ears!" Titus exclaimed. When the cat caught sight of Titus, it saw its life flash before its eyes. As Titus rushed over, the cat let out a screech of horror. The instant Titus tried to grab it the cat launched itself into the air and sprinted as far as its little legs would carry him. "Hey, wait-"

"Come back kitty!" Another voice called.

Blinking, Titus looked up. And found himself face to face with a little girl. For a minute the two just stared at each other. Then, slowly, their eyes widened.

"You're a girl! A village girl!"

"Whoa! Your hair is really long mister!"

Titus jumped up so he could absorb the sight of her. She was small, perhaps five years old or maybe older. She had reddish brown hair and warm honey brown eyes. She wore a dirty white dress and sandals that were falling apart. The girl took in the man's strange black cloak, the pointy hat on his head and the long, LONG yellow hair. She could climb that hair like a rope! "How did you grow your hair that long?"

"I-"

"T-Timothy!" Sphintus sprinted over to the pair, the panic written all over his face. "What are you doing?"

"It's a girl! Look Spartacus, it's a girl!" Sphintus cringed at the fake name he'd decided on before. He thought it would make him sound tough, but the way Titus said it made it sound like he was appeasing a child.

"Yes Timothy, I can see that." Titus had never said anything about talking to people. He'd just said they would look around.

Well, if you considered what Titus did talking. "She's a normal girl, one from the village! Who are you girl? Do you live around here? With your family or friends? Is there a place you go to school? Do you have teachers that live with you or do you go see them? What do you do for fun? Are you having a good day?"

Said little girl frowned at the two older men. "You're really weird," Marga stated. Titus deflated. "But I like you."

Titus brightened. "Did you hear that? She likes me!"

"Yes Timothy, I heard her." But he wasn't too happy about it. "Look, it's great and all, but we really can't stay around for too long…"

"Are you two travellers?" The young girl interrupted, making both men turn to her again. "My friend Ali is a traveller to. He wears weird cloths and says weird stuff too." Sphintus's mind was transferred to the prince of Balbaad, Alibaba. Wasn't his nickname Ali? No, that guy was smarter than his brothers. He wouldn't have used his own nickname as his disguise. That would have been stupid! Slowly both the boys nodded, seeing it as an appropriate disguise. The girl tilted her head to the side, as if pondering her options. "When I met Ali, Hakuei had invited him home for dinner. Do you want to have some food?"

No, No, ABORT! "Uh, actually, we've really got to,"

"I'd love some food!" Titus interrupted with glee. In one movement he slipped away from Sphintus and took his place next to the girl. "My favourite is lemon cake!"

The girl's eyes widened. "Mine too! And spaghetti! Lots of spaghetti!"

"I love spaghetti!" For a second he glanced back in the way the cat had run. "I bet that cat would have loved spaghetti. Cat's love pasta."

"I don't know. But I like cats. They are so cute and small."

"Like babies!"

"Yeah, babies! You're really funny mister!" The two of them stared at each other, as an inevitable possibility was dawning on the two of them. "Did we just become best friends?"

Sphintus felt like he was going to faint. "What? Titus, don't you-"

"YES!" the two grabbed each other's hands in glee. "My name is Ti-Timothy! What's your name?"

"I'm Marga!" The girl announced happily. The two were practically skipping! That was it. Sphintus's life was over. He was going to be hanged. While laughing the girl said, "We've got to go find Hakuryuu! He cooks the best spaghetti that I've ever had!" For a moment she paused. "He probably wouldn't be home…Ever since Hakuei left, mother has been very angry and we all try to avoid her. Let's find Hakuryuu," the girl suggested. "I'll be he's probably cooking with his new friends."

Titus's smile could light any cave. "Sounds terrific! Lead the way!" Before Sphintus could stop them the girl and Titus had danced away and he was following her to who-knows were. As Sphintus tried desperately to catch up he heard the question from Titus. "So who is Hakuryuu? Is he your brother? Or your friend?" Sphintus could practically feel the question he wanted to ask. _Am I going to make a new friend?_

Marga tilted her head to the side, forgetting that she had on hand still with Titus. "Not really. We live in the same orphanage." Titus looked interested in that fact while Sphintus thought he was going to die. If Titus suggested they adopt the child he was going to FREAK. "But…he hasn't been there lately." Her bright smile slowly faded, as a sun would hide behind a cloud. "After his sister was taken away for the wedding thing, he started making some new friends. They scare me a bit…" Sphintus was curious when he heard a girl had been taken for the wedding. He wondered if he'd met the girl.

Sphintus grew more and more agitated as they continued down an alley way. The neighborhood was starting to look less inviting the more they walked. He saw old men drinking on the side of the road, and a pair of concubines flirting with a man and women. The road became cracked and dusty while the buildings started to fade in colour and in build. It was as if they were deteriorating in front of their eyes. Titus didn't seem to notice, happily allowing his new friend to lead him away. He must have been wearing some rose-coloured glasses that showed him nothing but the fact that he'd made a new friend. "So uh…kid. Marga, right. Where are you taking us?" The girl glanced up at him in surprise.

"Oh! I forgot there was two of you!" Sphintus pouted while Titus laughed. "The last time I saw Hakuryuu with his friends, he was over in the old dojo. It's abandoned now, but that's where he and his new friends always play." Play? Were they children? And ABANDONED? Sphintus wasn't sure he wanted to go falling through some weak floors anytime soon.

"Hey, uh, Timothy, how about we," but it was too late.

"Here we are!" The two teenagers looked up to the building and Sphintus nearly had a heart attack. It was a three story building that looked like it had not been lived in in decades. Only half of the front wall was still there, revealing dojo mats on each floor. The bricks were in shambles and broken pieces of wood stuck out from every angle.

What was worse was the fact that there had to be hundreds of people there.

Men and women, all mostly in their 20's to 40's surrounded every floor. Most were wearing dirty clothes, quite a few with injuries or past scars from them. They were treated so terribly Sphintus resisted the urge to rush up to each of them and give them a proper bandage. ON the first floor the three could see through a large, five person gap in the wall that there was a brawl going on. One large man with bulky muscles was fighting one tall quick girl with dreadlocks. The man launched himself at the girl but she jumped out of his reach, sending him sprawling to the ground. The large crowd around them laughed and jeered to the fighters.

When the girl had been talking about friends, he thought she had meant friends HER AGE. "Please tell me Hakuryuu isn't one of them," He whimpered weakly as the man roared in protest when the girl kicked him in the stomach.

Marga shook his head giving him his first relief all day. "No, he's not there. He fights with a sword and staff." SAY WHAT? "He didn't use to fight that much," Marga insisted when she saw the healers expression. "He used to only train for defense. But when he met these people, he started fighting a lot more. He's here almost every day with all these people. He says they are training."

"What are they training for?" Titus asked, his tone taking the first serious note Sphintus had heard from him all day. "Are they preparing for a battle? There is no one to fight." Marga just shrugged, to innocent to see the danger behind the army that was being built.

Instead she caught sight of the blue-black hair out of the crowd. "There he is! Hakuryuu!" Titus and Marga rushed over to the boy who turned to face them. Sphintus felt his blood turn cold when he faced them. The 'kid' was around their age. With a large red burn covering one eye. Sphintus had only seen two situations where someone could get a burn that bad for it to not heal.

And both of those times, the fire had not been an accident.

Hakuryuu blinked as Marga and Titus approached him. "Marga? What are you doing here? And…who is this?" Titus and Marga beamed at him innocently.

"I brought my new friend so you could make us spaghetti!"

"I love spaghetti!" Titus beamed. Hakuryuu took a step back, not sure if he should be confused about the new friend that was obviously much older than her, or how he acted very close to her age.

After a brief hesitation he told them. "I…Don't have any spaghetti."

"AWWWW." They both whined. "Can you make us spaghetti?" Sphintus face palmed in exasperation. Hakuryuu just watched the two strangers cautiously. There certainly were a lot of strangers coming into town since the soldiers had arrived. Lots of things had changed since the soldiers had come. In his opinion, things were soon going to change for the better.

"Hey, Hakuryuu?" The group turned to a man who walked over to them. The smoke from his cigar made Titus cough when he got closer. "Who are these people? More fighters to the cause?" Titus raised his eyebrow at that. What cause?

"Ah, I don't think so." he waved to them carelessly. "Marga just brought them here to…get food I think."

He tried to point to Marga, but the girl had moved behind Titus while holding onto his cloak. She glared at the new comer from behind his leg as if he was evil incarnate. "Hakuei didn't like you," she tried to make it sound like she didn't want them to hear, but was too loud for anyone to miss it.

The stranger smirked, but didn't comment. Instead he went to the two teenagers. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Who are you?" Sphintus wasn't sure he wanted to even give his fake names to the stranger. What kind of man did you have to be for a child to dislike you instantly? Combined with the place they found him, Sphintus wasn't feeling too trusting.

"My name is…ah...Ti…Timothy!" In the background Sphintus groaned. "And what's your name?" The man glanced down at the younger gentleman holding out his hand. He raised an eyebrow at the formality of his actions. Then, slowly, a smile crept on his face as he took his head.

"Pleasure to meet you Timothy," He grinned, smoke trailing from his cigar. "The names Cassim."


	14. Life as a Bride

Life as a Bride

Hakuei held the piece of porcelain between her fingers silently praying it would shatter beneath her. Her hands were trembling, a crippling fear that she had hoped would never come to pass was staring her in the face. To make it worse those around her could not see the same danger. They beamed as if they had just done her a great service, presenting her with their gift. The one with silver hair-Jafar? - Was rattling on about something that she knew were not words of comfort. "It is a shame that it took this long to make," Jafar was telling her. "But the makers usually don't make these under such short notice. It's a miracle they were able to infuse the magic in it so quickly." Magic? Hakuei stared down at the delicate piece of stone in her hands.

"What is this?" Hakuei asked, glancing up from her mask to see the people around her waiting expectantly.

"Your mask," Jafar told her patiently. "You need to wear it." Hakuei hesitated.

The mask looked anything but magic.

It was black. Pure black, with white dots underlining the bottom of the eye and white swirls above trailing out to make a cat-like appearance. At the edge was the inscription of a rose, beautifully carved and looking to delicate that a mere touch could break it. Hakuei tested it herself. It did not budge. The others looked at the mask as if it was their own piece of heaven. The mask looked up at her like it was taunting her. The mask, obviously, had not been made for her. It was not designed to match her personality or her country like ones that she'd seen others wear. It was beautiful, yet wrong on her face. Elegant, like a trap. She could tell that when the mask had been designed they had been expecting someone far more…dramatic than she was. She wondered if some were disappointed it would be the quiet pacifist that would wear their art.

"For...How long?" Jafar raised an eyebrow, though Hakuei could not see it behind the mask.

"How long?"

"How long do I need to wear it," She repeated.

The others-she assumed they were guards, servants. Others who worked under Jafar, judging from how they always made certain they did not stand in front of him and allowed him to take a seat while they stood. They all glanced at each other with questions in their eyes. Her reaction was obviously not the one they had been expecting. Jafar was surprised, but managed to give her a straight answer. "The same as any of us would wear a mask Lady Hakuei. Whenever you are seen by other people."

His answer felt like an icicle being shot through her insides. "A-Always? Even in front of my friends and family?" The silence he gave was an answer in itself. "Why do I need to conceal my identity anyway? Everyone knows who I am already."

"That is what the magic in the masks are for. The magic takes away the identity from anyone who has already learned it unless you reveal it to them after you have worn the mask." Jafar paused for a moment. "For your own sake I do not recommend that. At least until you are used to... the benefits behind the masks."

Sure. The benefits.

That's what everyone seemed to see them as. Ever since the ball it was as if she had been dragged out of her world and been forced to adapt to a new one. Her clothes were taken away, royal garments of silk and fine jewelry left in its place. Each day her regular tradition of waking up early to wash and read was erased as others would bring her breakfast in bed, help her dress and wash as they gave her the daily news. The few friends she had met while in the palace she had been torn away from. She couldn't be sure if they even remained in the palace anymore.

And then they gave her a mask. A mask that would strip her of her identity and leave her a stranger to her loved ones.

To her brother.

As if the mask were made of poison, Hakuei set it on the table and pulled herself as far away from it as she could. "Is it…necessary? Do I have to wear this?"

Jafar's frown was more out of confusion than annoyance. "Yes, you must wear the mask. If you are to marry the king of Sindria the mask will be absolutely necessary."

"I-If," Hakuei clung onto the word like a lifeline. "But there isn't any guarantee that I will marry him is there? Or at least no guarantee that I will be married to him for long. They told us that after a time we would marry and then he would have one year to decide if he truly wanted me to remain as his wife. What are the chances that he would want to remain my husband after only picking me when we had one dance together? And what are the chances he will go through the marriage in the first place?"

Jafar didn't want to admit his own doubts to his king's commitment to the idea. "Regardless, it is an honoured tradition of those who are connected to anyone in the royal court to wear a mask. It is for your own protection and for your own safety,"

"What difference does it make?" Hakuei exclaimed. "Excuse me for my bluntness, but no one here knows who I am. Everyone in this palace is a stranger to me except for my friends of the bachelorettes. Even then, very few of them knew who I am. To everyone here I am the women that will marry the king of Sindria, nothing more. This mask will tell them exactly that, that I am the king's fiancée. Is a mask truly necessary to tell people exactly what they already know? I have nothing to hide that they could not discover on their own!" Behind Jafar, the servants had started whispering to each other, giving Hakuei odd looks between sentences. Jafar had furrowed his eyebrows, trying to discover the secrets to this girl. She did not want to wear a mask? Why not? It was tradition, it was an honour! Anyone in her position would have begged to wear it yet she begged for it to be taken away. Did she not realize the power that she was given with the mask?

For what must have been the millionth time he wondered what was going through his king's mind when he had chosen the girl.

"…Lady Hakuei…"

"J-just Hakuei is fine," she interrupted. Jafar pursed his lips. He did not know whether it would be a good idea to be referring to the potential future queen so informally with others around, even if her intentions were innocent in nature.

"…If you are truly opposed to the mask, I'm afraid I cannot give you the authority to go without it. However," He added when Hakuei's face had fell. "Someone specifically of the twelve may be allowed to authorize that." Hakuei frowned at his answer. It was a chance, but not much of one. One of the twelve? She didn't know anyone. No one she could go to ask for such a thing-

"And may I add," Jafar continued. "As you are marrying the king of Sindria you will likely be made into a Sindrian citizen. Which means that any laws or…authorization you should require would need to come from…"

Oh. The king.

The king of Sindria.

Her Fiancée.

Truly, she had not seen nor heard from the king since that dance. Since then she had greatly regretted ever taking his hand. She should have just refused his offer, risk the consequences. How was she going to ask him for…for anything? Simply the memory of seeing him sent shivers up her spine. A dark mist seemed to curl in her mind every time he was mentioned.

He was not an ally.

He was not a friend.

He was a mystery. One she did NOT want to solve. Because something dark loomed behind that mask with a power and fear that she could not handle.

"He is currently in the study hall discussing plans for the wedding," Jafar told her, shaking her out of her nightmare. "If you like I can escort you there myself." G-Go see him? The king? Was she actually going to talk to him? She glanced down at the mask that meant her doom on the table and wondered if she could take it if she meant she could avoid meeting him face to face.

On the other hand, if she wore the mask, she'd definitely have to speak to him more often. At least if she annoyed him, she may have been able to avoid that future yet.

"T-That is not necessary," Hakuei told him, pushing away from the table she sat at. "I can find it on my own. Thank you for your time." Without another word she rushed out of the library and went to face her doom.

"L-lady Hakuei, you should take the mask with you,"

Before he could continue she had already closed the door behind her.

* * *

Sinbad's eye twitched as Sharkkon laughed his head off. Another servant brought in a small sculpture, this one the carving of a long rose seemingly trapped in ice. "How about this one Milord?"

"No," Sinbad grunted. The servant showed no response as he picked it up and walked on.

The next one brought what looked like a small globe with water inside and a model of a boat sailing on the top. "This one Milord?"

"No," Sinbad repeated just as annoyed as before. The servants knew better than to reply.

Sharkkon couldn't stop laughing as the servant moved on so another could come forward. "Having fun picking your table displays king Sinbad?" The glare Sinbad fixed on him would have sent any grown man crying for mercy. Sharkkon on the other hand didn't have an enormous amount of common sense when he was trying not to laugh so hard. "What are they going to make you check out next? Flower arrangements?"

Sinbad's mouth tightened. "Not if I can help it." The servants shivered under his gaze.

Apparently a wedding had a lot more work involved than just saying a few vows and having a party. Weddings took months to plan, and since the twelve were insisting the wedding be absolutely perfect, they weren't wasting any time. For the last few days Sinbad had been called to decide what kind of wedding he wanted, where he wanted to hold the ceremony, where everyone should sit and even what the opening buffet should consist of! When other's described a wedding to him they'd made it sound like the official part with the vows then a huge party. But all the stuff that went into it did NOT make it seem like a party.

The prince snickered as Sinbad turned down another table decoration. "Say, shouldn't Mrs. Sinbad to be have a say in what the wedding's going to be like?" Sharkkon asked.

"She should," Sinbad agreed, "If that were possible." When he noticed Sharkkon's look he explained. "I haven't spoken to Lady Hakuei since the ball." And it was driving him up a wall.

It was supposed to be a party about them. A celebration for the happy couple. And yet Hakuei hadn't had any say in the wedding plans. As far as Sinbad could tell no one had bothered to ask her. Of course he knew why. While she was going to be queen when he married her for the moment she was still just a civilian girl who was staying at the palace. They did not fear her or give her any control. The council didn't care how the people treated her or what that did to her and Sinbad. They just wanted their wedding and a wedding they would have. He felt like a chess piece, being forced in one position to the next without them even considering where he wanted to go.

Speaking of the council, he wished he was back with them. He knew they were starting their battle strategies, he knew they were discussing how they would advance the attack. Any plan they had, even with the dungeon capturer's, required a lot more manpower than they anticipated. Sinbad wasn't sure his wedding to a women who he hardly spoke to would be enough to gain their trust. It felt as if they'd shoved all the responsibility of gaining the public's affections onto him and decided that the actual strategizing should be a top priority.

Did they not believe it was actually necessary to reinforce the public's image of them?

If he hadn't gone to see them, Sinbad wasn't sure he'd think it was necessary either.

When Sinbad had invited Sharkkon to come with him for his wedding planning he had been hoping for some kind of understanding, Sharkkon laughed. "And here we see the happy couple! You two sound like a regular royal couple already! Most kings and queens will take at least a year but you two are ahead of the game!" Sinbad growled under his breath.

While he knew he was going to regret it, he barked back at Sharkkon. "How's the wedding for Heliophat going? Have you decided what you're going to say to honour your brother and princess Yamu? Where have they decided to go for their honeymoon?"

That shut Sharkkon up instantly. "…That's a low blow Sinbad."

The king turned away, annoyed. "You started it." An awkward silence had captured the room.

And it was broken by someone knocking on the door. _Oh thank goodness,_ Sinbad sighed in relief. "Would someone get the door?" A nervous servant rushed away from the group to go see who it was. The other servants went back to arranging their decorations and preparing their plans to be brought forward to the king. Sharkkon remained silent for some time. When he did talk, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"…You don't think that they'll actually go on a honeymoon, do you?"

"Huh?"

Sinbad didn't get the chance to answer. Any interest he had in Sharkkon's question was torn away when he caught sight of who it was standing at the door. Hakuei-Or Lady Hakuei as he was supposed to call her now. He hadn't told anyone that Hakuei had been the one he visited while he was in the village, so he had to be formal with her just as anyone else would. It was the first time he'd seen her since the ball, though she hadn't changed much. The difference was the garment she wore, a simply white dress with a pink band around the middle and long sleeves. It was elegant-Sinbad was surprised how well it fit her. The girl who lived in a small orphanage wearing hand-me-down robes looked exquisite wearing clothes made for a queen.

His moment of shock disappeared as Hakuei put one hand over her fist and bowed politely. "I…I hope I am not bothering you King…Sinbad." Right. It was King Sinbad. He wasn't sure what he had expected. She had acted distant towards him at the ball, but then he was having fun. He was even able to tease her while they danced. But for some reason…he had hoped things would be different when they were away from the lights and surrounded by people. He hoped it would be the Hakuei who said clever words and gave her opinions freely. The only evidence of bravery she had was that she did not break eye contact as she hesitantly walked closer.

Then again, for someone in her position, just coming to him was considered brave.

"I was told to talk to you about the mask?" She explained herself like it was a question, worried that just telling him the facts would upset him. When he'd been considering taking a bride from the citizens of Kina, he hadn't considered her being afraid of him.

If he weren't so…preoccupied, he'd make more of an effort to reassure her she could relax. "Yes, of course. Jafar should have yours completed already. You can find him probably in one of the studies. Ah-he's the one with a white mask that has silver stripes." But Hakuei shook her head.

"N-no, I already spoke to Jafar milord." She didn't continue, so Sinbad had to wave her on. "I needed to ask you if it was alright not to wear it."

Sinbad stopped. His hand that had been tracing the handle of his chair froze in place. Not a sound could be heard in the room, not even the sound of breathing. The servants all stared at Hakuei wide-eyed while her cheeks started to turn a light shade of red. Out of the corner of his eye Sinbad spotted Sharkkon mouthing to him _what the heck._

He had more work to do that day than he thought he had.

"Leave us."

At his words Hakuei looked like she was going to have a heart attack. "T-There's no need for that, I didn't mean to take up your time, if you are too busy I can come back later!" Sinbad wasn't sure which part of the idea bothered her more. The fact that she may have been bothering him, or the fact that he was making the others leave so they could chat alone.

Without a glance at her, Sinbad waved to the others as he stood from his chair. "Did I not make myself clear? I need to speak to my fiancée alone." Fiancée. Even the word was foreign. The servants jumped at his words and Hakuei shivered, probably wishing she weren't there. Sharkkon was surprised to say the least, but quickly rushed out the struggling servants. As they left a few bowed politely to Hakuei. She was so confused she ended up waving back as a reply. Sinbad didn't soften his glare until the door had shut behind them.

And then they were alone.

"Now," Sinbad murmured, sliding around the chair so he could face her. "What is the issue with the mask?"

Hakuei trembled at the sight of the king. Part of her wished she could just disappear and go after the servants. She hadn't wanted to speak to him, much less speak to him alone. She wanted to be brave. She wanted to be better than the girl who would cower from authority because of their fame. But this was a king of the twelve. A man that many had come to practically worship. And she had no idea what he was like. Or what he could do. "I…There is no issue with the mask. It is fine,"

"Does the magic not work?" The king interrupted. She was horror-stricken when she wondered if she had interrupted something of great importance. Her eyes strayed over to the table where she saw various statues and small pieces of art. She had no idea what he would be doing with those.

"I-I cannot say for certain. I did not try it on."

Sinbad's frown deepened. "You didn't try it?" She forced herself to shake her head. "Why not?"

"There is no point," Hakuei admitted. "E-everyone knows who I am already. And when I go back,"

"Go back." Sinbad stopped her. "Why would you go back?"

"When I go back to my family," She replied cautiously. "After all this is over?" Sinbad raised an eyebrow, pushing Hakuei into a corner. Somehow she knew her fight was futile, that anything she said would not make a difference to his long-term goals. She was just a mouse pleading for mercy from the cat.

"Over?" he drawled out slowly, tasting the word on his tongue and despising the taste. "It's not going to be 'over' Hakuei. This is a lifelong commitment."

Perhaps it was optimism that gave her the courage to shake her head. "How long do you expect it to last?"

"Forever or until one of us dies," he grumbled. To his surprise, Hakuei gasped and jumped back, one arm flailing behind her to search for a weapon. Sinbad stared at his fiancée in surprise as she tried to contain her fear. "…That wasn't a threat." For a moment she watched him cautiously, trying to decide if he was being honest or not.

Then, slowly, she exhaled as her stance relaxed. "C-could have fooled me," she gulped. Sinbad frowned while she avoided meeting his gaze. Their marriage was going to be harder than he'd thought. And he hadn't had encouraging thoughts to begin with.

Sinbad was tempted to tell her to leave that instant and come back with her mask on or he would go find her. How foolish could someone be to not wear a mask in a palace? Hakuei was a clever women, so why was that so hard for her to grasp? "I certainly hope you have a good excuse if you are so desperate to not wear the mask." Hakuei hoped he was a man who could contain his anger. He did not sound pleased at the moment.

Before Hakuei could stop herself she blurted, "They repulse me, sir." Sinbad stopped. Hakuei didn't dare take a breath, wondering how she could possibly be so foolish. What on earth possessed her into thinking it was a good idea to say that to the king? The king of Sindria?

"…They repulse you."

 _Too late to take it back now,_ Hakuei decided. She nodded slowly.

"…And why would that be?"

Hakuei hesitated. She'd made one mistake and blurted out the truth, but she didn't know if she could get away with doing that again. On Sinbad's hand he was surprised by her answer. He'd never heard of anyone being anything but envious of the masks. Someone repulsing them sounded…alien. But he knew his curiosity would go unsatisfied when she hesitated. Any answer she gave would not be an honest one, not to him.

 _This women will never confide in me._

Sinbad didn't have time to continue on the topic. It seemed too small to him when there was a war against a continent with unknown weapons at their disposal. IN his mind he convinced himself that after a few days of not wearing a mask the odd looks she would get would be too much for her and she'd eventually go to the mask on her own. But for the moment, he let out a long sigh. What she did was none of his business for now. "As you wish. You may go without the mask if you like." Hakuei breathed a sigh of relief so great, Sinbad wondered what exactly she had been expecting him to do. She looked like she'd just been guaranteed the chance to live another day.

"But," He added for good measure. "When we are married, you must promise to wear the mask every single time you leave the Sindrian palace or are in the company of others. It doesn't matter if someone who is one of the twelve or an associate of them sees you without your mask, but no one else may know your identity. Is that understood?"

At first her instinct was to say it was alright. But then, slowly, she examined exactly what he had said. In the company of the twelve…that was no issue. She had no friends who wore the masks other than prince Alibaba, who she had not seen recently. To be honest she did not care whether she had to wear it whenever she was around the king himself. In the company of others…civilians from the town around likely wouldn't recognize her in the new clothes ad mask. But when she left the palace…There was the orphanage. The children who had come to rely on her, Marga. And her friends in the town, like Leia and Shelia. And there was…"Not…not even my brother?"

"No."

Not a moment's hesitation. No regret, no sympathy, no sign of understanding of the human desire to want to remain connected to one's family. It disturbed her that she had very little proof that he really was human. According to rumors and stories, the members of the twelve could be anything. But for him to not understand-or maybe just not care-that was truly terrifying to her. It made her extremely expendable.

But if she said no, that meant she'd have to wear the mask. In time, would she become just like him?

 _This is only temporary,_ she told herself. _I may not have to wear the mask at all. Just stall until he decides to let you go home._ Despite her fears, Hakuei answered, her words dripping with sarcasm, "If that is what you command."

"I do," he answered bluntly.

Refolding her hands, Hakuei bowed once again. "Thank you for seeing me," She told him. "I will return to my rooms now if…there is anything else you need to discuss with me." Even as she said it she knew there was no point to telling him where she would be. What could he possibly have to discuss with her? He hadn't needed her since the dance, what would he want her for now? As she turned away, his voice stopped her.

"Hakuei." Hakuei froze where she stood. What had she done wrong? All she had tried to do was go back to her room. Was she supposed to wait for him to official dismiss her? With her heart hammering in her chest she slowly forced herself to turn back and face him. Behind the mask, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Where are you going?"

She hesitated. Normally her answer would have been a simple, 'leaving,' but she didn't think that would cut it. She didn't want to risk angering the king more than he already was. She had no idea what was going to happen to her if he lost his temper. Rumors and stories of the wrath of the king of Sindria swarmed back to her. One story where he could control lightening and once shot down a sea creature that had disturbed his friends while they were fishing. Another said he'd frozen a local group of travellers to the ground for cutting off his path. One even said he had a great blue giant that would appear whenever he wished and would crush anything and everything around him. When she'd heard them they'd sounded absolutely ridiculous. But when she was standing in front of him she wasn't so sure. What had she done wrong?

It took her some time to think of a suitable response. "I was…going to head back to my room. Your majesty," She added hastily. Sinbad didn't-or pretended-not to notice.

He did notice her avoiding eye contact. Her posture was rigid, hands tight at her side. What had he done that time? "You mean our room."

At his words Hakuei snapped her head up and her eyes widened. "What?"

He tilted his head ever so slightly. "Our room. If we are going to marry, of course we'll share a room. Don't married couples do that in the town?" There was no smile, but Hakuei could hear the mocking tone. She wanted to punch him, but was too scared to even move. Share a room. With the king of Sindria? No, she couldn't do that. The very thought made her feel like she was walking on burning coals. Every moment with him made her heart race and wonder if she'd leave the encounter alive or if their conversation would be her last. And she could count the number of conversations she had had on one hand. To have to share a room…to see him every day…To wake up to have a mask be the first thing she saw…

"But…I…we aren't married yet," Hakuei tried to reason while trying to temper her growing anxiety. "Y-your majesty I just…Isn't it not appropriate? Wouldn't others not approve?"

That made the king smirk. "I'm the king of Sindria. Do you really think anyone is going to tell me what is or isn't appropriate?" It was supposed to calm her, but all it did was send shivers up her spine. No one could stop him? From doing anything he wanted? Anything? What if he did decide to hurt her? She knew she couldn't stop him. And according to him, no one else would either.

"I…W-why though? We aren't married yet…And it's completely possible we don't get married, if you decide not to marry me of course," Hakuei added for good measure.

Sinbad let out a short laugh at her argument. "You really don't understand, do you? You and I ARE getting married. This will not change, and it is not up for debate. You are going to be the queen of Sindria." He paused, watching the disbelief slowly start to edge away with the doubts he put into her mind. Even with them her own opinion would not budge. Did she truly think that it was temporary? That somehow everything would go back to normal for her? Things would never be normal for her. Even if he did let her leave, they would not be normal. By then people would have heard she was there. If she took of the mask others would remember who she was. That kind of life would not be normal.

After a moment he continued. "Jafar should have told you this already. The room arrangements will be finished tonight." He turned away from her, glancing at the center pieces with distain. "This way I can find you when I need you," Sinbad told her, though they both knew he could do that anyway. With one hand he waved to the decorations that were splayed in front of them. "Currently my time has been preoccupied with arrangements for our wedding, but I do have my own duties to attend to. Besides, you should have your say in what happens at our wedding." He glanced up at her again, a smile on his face this time. "Things are more convenient this way."

Convenient? Sure, if her never falling asleep out of fear was convenient for him. Before she could voice any objections, Sinbad's golden eyes fixed themselves on her. "Will that be all?"

The cold sensation that went down her spine told her not to argue. "…No, my king."

Sinbad waved on hand. "You may go."

Hakuei did as she was told, wondering how she would survive being married to a man who could kill her in an instant. She wouldn't last long.

Through the mask he watched her leave, his own spirits falling as he did. He regretted his decision with every passing second. She had enough courage to fight his decisions, but feared he would kill her for the small things? That was yet another reason he'd never wanted to get married. Unless he married a queen they would all fear him-sometimes, even if it was a queen they would still watch their words with him. What kind of marriage would that be? A miserable one, that's what. And especially a boring one.

His parents' marriage had been successful, despite the odds. His father, who was a war hero had married his mother, the queen of Sindria, despite their different standings. Everyone had told them it would end in disaster, that they would never be happy with so many differences. But despite the odds, they'd been two of the happiest people Sinbad could remember. Perhaps, in a way, that also contributed to Sinbad's wish to never marry. His expectations were too high for someone of the twelve. His parents had loved and trusted one another no matter what. If he must marry, he wanted that.

In the court of the twelve, you trusted the stranger you met on a ship just as much as your lifelong friend from war.

Sinbad sighed, running one hand through his hair. How was he going to deal with her? She would never see him through the mask, let alone trust him. And he could not trust her.

When he thought about that, a thought hit him. _Great,_ he groaned mentally. _Will I have to wear a mask when I sleep now?_

He was half tempted to drive her away so that he didn't have to marry her. That way at least Jafar would be appeased that Sinbad had done his best, and the council may give up and force someone else to marry a citizen. But the other part of him knew he shouldn't. He'd dragged Hakuei from her home, whether he had good intentions or not, and shoved her into a world she was naïve to and forced her to figure out how to survive. His pride said that he couldn't do all that just to toss her to the side again.

At the very least he had to try and make an effort-if not for the two of them, but for the war effort. The attack had only increased the council's expectations on his marriage and he knew that. Whether they truly thought it was helpful was irrelevant. It had been the reason he'd made the rash decision and picked Hakuei as his wife. He'd never intended to pick her-or anyone- so early into the celebrations. He had planned to enjoy a few more parties and spend time with more women before actually making a decision. And even after that, he had never considered picking Hakuei. Sure, she was partially responsible the whole ceremony was happening in the first place, but he had only intended to get her medical attention. While he had certainly found her quite beautiful and interesting to have conversation with, marrying Hakuei had NOT crossed his mind. He couldn't even fix it-she wouldn't look at him without the fear of impending death in her eyes.

Anyone who said a little mystery was good for a relationship were fools.

Sinbad walked over to one of the windows, leaning out to get some fresh air. What was he supposed to do? It was mystery he just couldn't answer. If nothing else he wanted Hakuei to relax. She was going to be there for a while, she may as well get used to it. But he doubted he would listen to her if he told her to…Then how-

As soon as it hit him, he was embarrassed he hadn't thought of it sooner.

* * *

What time was it? Hakuei had lost track. All she knew was that she was going to do all she could to avoid going to her new room even if it meant never leaving the garden.

And there was the fact that no one had actually told her where her new room was.

She let out a long sigh, allowing the petals from her flower to float to the ground. If nothing else the garden was beautiful. She'd never seen nature so well cared for in the village. Most people didn't have the time to care for some plants unless they were for food. The garden itself was on the out edge of the palace grounds, just outside the wall but still up a mountain, far from where any citizens lived. She'd found a quiet spot by a pond where she could be alone. During the evening anyway. She had a hunch that during the day there would be many people trying to get away.

Hakuei watched as the petal was carried down the mountain and towards the village. Ever since she had found the garden she'd come down there, watch the city below. She wondered what had happened to everyone while she had been gone. Why wasn't her brother responding to her letters? Was he alright? Madaura had certainly been angry when she had left. While she couldn't kick him out she wondered…

She forced herself to shake those thoughts away. She couldn't worry about her brother for the moment. What good would it do? Just raise worries when she already had a bag full of her own. There was nothing she could do for her brother, even if he did need her. She had to deal with her own problems, make sure she could survive in the palace or figure out how to leave. If she couldn't do that, what good would she be if her brother really did need her help? No, she had to figure out how to navigate her new-she would not accept it as her new life-her temporary predicament before she tried to help anyone else. She had to try and deal with the king.

But how could she deal with a man she could not speak to?

As she plucked another petal from the flower, she heard swishing in the grass. Someone was walking over to her? Mentally she prepared herself to see a mask, to not panic and remember she saw them every day. When the stranger got closer however, she turned and saw something different.

There was no mask.

There were no royal robes.

There was no stranger.

"Ali!"

Hakuei forgot herself as she bounded over to him and jumped into his arms. Ali struggled to stay standing but quickly stabilized the two of them as he hugged her back. Hakuei hardly noticed as she buried her face in his chest, relief and exhaustion from recent events overwhelming her as she wrapped her arms around the only familiar face she knew. "I'm so glad you're here. You're the first familiar face-the first face I have seen in weeks Ali!"

"Yup, that's me," Sinbad smiled as he hugged her back. "Ali. Just Ali."


	15. We Need A Spy

We Need A Spy

 **So...I've had a ton of projects and assignments lately, along with Christmas coming up, visiting friends and soon exams. I'm not sure when i'll be able to write again but i'll try and have something written before Christmas. Thank you all for being patient and i hope this chapter was worth the wait. Enjoy!**

"You're late."

Titus quivered under Nerva's cocky smirk. "My apologies. I had some business to take care of." At least that wiped the smug smile off of his face.

 _What business? He's not the king, he shouldn't have any business that I don't know about! What has he been doing?_ Nerva had become extremely paranoid since the election for the next leader of laem. Most of the leaders didn't' have the heart to tell him that very little could be done while they remained in a different country. Or, perhaps, the other leaders simply decided that information was best left out of Nerva's hands.

Titus held no guilt in milking every little detail to make Nerva jump. While he knew it wouldn't last, at least he had a viable way to break his cocky attitude or make him go away. The officials in their countries government were happy with Nerva's increased efforts to get work done. Perhaps Titus should have shown more anxiety…But anyone who met Nerva knew he wasn't a man of the people. At least Titus had gone to visit someone who didn't wear a mask. Which, in fact, was the real reason why he was late.

And to none of the Twelve's knowledge, he wasn't the only one.

As Titus took his seat the door opened behind him. "Ah, sorry everyone!" King Sinbad greeted them as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'll be on time next time."

After his fail with Titus, Nerva decided to try the King. "And where have you been?" Usually Sinbad showed no sign of disturbance when Nerva spoke. But for the first time, Sinbad struggled to come up with an answer.

"Me? I was…" Titus decided to show some mercy on the poor guy. If Titus had been under the glare his advisor Jafar was sending him, he would have melted like a candlestick.

"He was helping me with my work," Titus interrupted. King Sinbad wore a puzzled expression on his face which slowly changed to understanding when Nerva's eyes bulged out of his head.

"What? You've been working with the king of Sindria?" he turned to Sinbad in rage. Even his gold, magnificent mask could not disguise his fear. "I demand to know what you were talking about! King Sinbad, are you assisting him for the election? You cannot be a part of my countries government!" Sinbad and Titus both held back their laughter with tight lips.

Sinbad shrugged, purposefully vague with his answer. "You know I don't get a say in what happens in the election." Titus admired his quick thinking. "As for if I decide to help a friend out with some...business, then that has nothing to do with the ruling of the country." Nerva's face was turning bright red under his mask. Others had to cover their mouths to hide their snickers.

Others were not as impressed. "Can you please leave conversations that do not affect us all for later?" Serendine glared at Sinbad through her mask as he took his spot at the table. "Be sure to come on time for the next meeting. Considering how many you have missed, you can't afford to miss the mandatory ones." The others decided not to mention that the reason Sinbad was missing those meetings was on their orders.

Sinbad just winked at the queen. "Did you miss me?"

Her face hardened. "Show your fiancée more respect. If she makes things difficult because she finds out you are flirting with others then all of us will have to deal with it, not just you." The fellow king showed no worry as he let himself relax in his chair and examine the room around him.

"Interesting that you jump to the conclusion that I was flirting. I was just asking a simple question." There were a few chuckles around the room but Serendine remained un-phased. No one could crack Cerendine's iron-hard skin except for her allies. And those, being a member of the twelve, were few. When she didn't relax Sinbad sighed. "Just because I am getting engaged doesn't mean I have to stop being myself. Some harmless flirting here and there is simply in my nature, ask Jafar." The groan Jafar held back said that was true. "Besides, she won't complain." No one decided to mention that the reason she would not complain was because she feared for her life rather than out of respect.

Regardless, Serendine insisted. "Your marriage seems to be the only connection we are making with the people. If you are going to mess it up, at least wait until after you are married so any complaints she has would be only yours to deal with. So wait to find any concubines or mistresses until later." Titus was surprised to see Sinbad's mouth twitch with annoyance at the suggestion. There were rumours about how the king would act when he was married. Most believed he would continue as normal and perhaps ignore his new queen altogether. Once Titus had overheard Jafar assuring others that the king would remain loyal if he was married, but the doubt was still there. Titus himself didn't see the desire to seek anyone after already being married. Why go after many other people when you could have one all to yourself?

When he had mentioned that to Sphintus, he had said Titus was hopelessly innocent.

"How are things going with your fiancée king Sinbad?" Emperor Kouen decided to try and get the conversation back to the important things since everyone had FINALLY arrived. The King of Sindria turned to him with a beaming grin.

"Much better lately," Sinbad replied. A few of the officials gave Sinbad an odd look. From what they had seen of the king and his future queen, things were not looking well. The women barely made eye contact with him, she seemed to fear for her life every minute she was in the same room as him. But something seemed to give Sinbad a feeling of…misguided confidence that things would be alright. That somehow she was going to one day be alright with everything and they would be a happy couple. They hardly spoke!

Titus noticed Jafar struggling not to strangle his king in the background.

Ahbmad snickered under his breath, coming to his own conclusions. "Enjoying sharing the bedroom King Sinbad? The girl acts quite modest but I'll bet she's not as innocent as she appears, huh?" He laughed at his own joke, not noticing that it echoed against the walls. Anyone who thought it was funny knew to be silent, and there were few that did. Serendine and Kouen glowered at the king while Alibaba looked like he wanted to disappear because of his association. Titus himself didn't understand the connection while Mira looked genuinely curious to discover if they were true.

Even those stuck in their own thoughts caught the glower Sinbad fixed on the king. "THAT is none of your business. And if you dare speak about Hakuei like that again I will make sure you never say another word for the rest of your life. Is. That. Clear?" The deafening silence that surrounded the room said it was. Eyes shifted to glance at each other, wondering what on earth had caused such a change. Abhamad had turned as pale as a ghost.

Under his breath, Koumei whispered to his brother. "Perhaps the plan has been working to well." Kouen coughed as he leaned into the table.

"King Sinbad, your fiancée has not been wearing her mask," Kouen began, ignoring Sinbad staring the king of Balbaad down. "Will you be doing anything to rectify that in time?" Slowly Sinbad's eyes trailed away from the king to the emperor, letting him breath for the first time. The anger in Sinbad's eyes became a faded darkness that one could convince them that they were safe from.

"…My queen is…opposed to wearing the masks," Sinbad began, only to be interrupted by a burst of laughter from Nerva silenced him.

"What? What is wrong with her, why would she-" He silenced himself when he remembered what had happened to Abhamad. Sinbad's glare had returned with full force and was trained on him. He gulped and sank back into his chair. "I…I mean…that's very strange."

"…Indeed," Kouen agreed while keeping an eye on Sinbad's temper. "King Sinbad, does your fiancée understand the reason we wear the masks? If nothing else the potential security breech that is caused by a member-future member- not wearing one?" The king paused, one hand running over the side of his own mask. One flip of his wrist and it would come off.

And they would see him.

What would they see if he became the person that he had created for Hakuei to see?

"She understands the risks," Sinbad assured them. "…She has promised me that if the marriage does pan through, she will put on the mask and wear it just as everyone else was. According to the plan that will be soon. As long as she does wear it in the long run, it won't be a problem for any members of the court." Others cast each other suspicious glances. None of them were entirely sure how to approach such a topic. Sinbad seemed assured in his resolution, but they couldn't say with certainty if it was the best one.

Sinbad's smile shown like it was evidence itself to his claims. "It was the only thing that she would agree to. Things will be alright. " Titus wished he could understand where Sinbad got his confidence from. If appeared that the engagement was going nowhere, yet Sinbad was acting as if things couldn't be better. Perhaps the king really didn't know the meaning of the word fear.

The King of Heliophat still looked suspicious, but he must have decided it was a topic for another time. "Alright. Now that that is settled, I would prefer to discuss our current plans of attack? Have there been any developments from the scouts we sent to the border?" Titus twitched against his will.

The others continued on with discussions for upcoming battles and spies they had sent out while his own doubts clouded against him. Now that that is settled? It was not settled. Things were not alright with the fiancé of Sinbad, and she was the only connection to the people that they had made. His own election wouldn't be held for a while so there was little he could do. The others were convinced there was no need.

And why would they think so? For generations citizens bowed to royalty without a second thought. They practically worshipped the ground they walked on. The people of villages and towns did not even understand the magnitude of power that the twelve held in their metal vessels and magicians. Any help the people could give them seemed insignificant. And none of them could imagine any problems.

But Titus saw them. Titus had gone to meet the people for the first time. He saw there was issues. But the council was blind.

"C-can we discuss more ways to try and connect to the citizens of our countries?" Titus blurted aloud. Whatever conversation had been going on before was cut short as all eyes turned to the prince. Titus hadn't even been listening to a word they were saying.

"Sorry, could you repeat that Prince Titus?" Cerendine asked, trying to cut into the silence.

"I…I think we need to spend more time working with the people. I don't think the engagement is going to be enough," he said with a nod towards Sinbad.

Cerendine tried to save Titus's reputation by cutting it off before it started. "It's not something we need to discuss now," Cerendine waved the question away.

Titus persisted despite her best efforts. "But we do!" His hands slammed on the table, making many members jump in surprise. They'd hardly ever seen anyone act so emotionally at the table. When Titus caught his mistake he cringed. "I just…They don't trust us at all." Some of the others had incredulous looks on their faces at his reasoning. Didn't trust the twelve? No one had even suggested such a thing for milenia.

"What makes you so sure that they don't trust us?" Queen Rinmaru asked him with a honey sweet voice. It was meant to be comforting, but Titus shivered.

"I-I…" His eyes flickered towards a nervous looking Sphintus on the Heliophat side. The boy's eyes had widened and he was shaking his head vigorously. But Titus was not a liar. Mainly because he was not good at it. And he had to prove he wasn't just making it all up.

"Because…I went to visit them…without my mask."

There was a silence that hung around the table. For far too long.

Nerva, to Titus's displeasure, was the first to speak up. "You took of your mask?" He exclaimed in outrage. "What a disgrace! And you call yourself a member of the twelve!" but even through his mask Titus could see the smirk he barely hid. He'd been waiting for something like this. For Titus to mess up so he could pounce on him. And Titus had no plan to fall back on. Already other members of the twelve began shouting their accusations at the poor prince who was unable to defend himself.

The few who did not speak up seemed to double check that their own masks were on. To hide their own secrets from the angry crowd.

"How could you do something so foolish?" The queen of the amazons barked at him. "What if one of them had recognized you?"

"I-I was careful!" He reasoned.

"Bah!" The king of Balbaad snorted at him. "What desire could possibly have driven you to take of a mask? Are you as foolish as that peasant bride of Kina?"

"You had BETTER not have been talking about Hakuei," Sinbad growled. The king paled under his mask yet again, but the others did not notice.

"Do you realize how much danger you have put yourself in? That you have put our entire government in?" Koumei accused him.

"I-I,"

"What kind of person honestly would have wanted to go to the village instead of remain in the palace?" A soldier scoffed in the background. Even those who had no right to speak in the meeting were not chastised for their reactions. They were all accepted by the vast majority. At least, they made others believe that it was.

Just when Titus thought he was going to be kicked out of the twelve, a shout rang above the rest.

"Let him speak!"

The commotion stopped. A group of confused eyes turned towards the prince of Balbaad, the one whose mask looked like flames. He appeared angry, for some reason. Titus could not imagine what had gotten him upset. He'd never heard the young prince speak anything above a nervous murmur or a laugh. But there was a conviction in his voice that befit a man of his rank. "Even though you are all pretending to be outraged I know that most of you have done the same thing! More than half the people sitting at this table have done the same thing, just never spoken up about it." A few, Nerva, king of Balbaad and the queen of the amazons, looked confused. But the rest of them knew better than to argue. "The fact that he's spoken up about it now," he continued, the passion in his words contagious and spreading like a forest fire. "Means that whatever he has to say is very important. So don't go on pretending you don't care about the lowly citizens that we rule!"

The silence that followed his speech seemed to hold for a shorter time, but had more depth than before.

No one. No one in the history of the council of the twelve had gone out and said it. No one dared to say anything against the traditions that had been followed for so many years, the society that they had built their ranks on. It was a small thing that was being questioned.

But nothing had ever been questioned before.

Something in the pit of Titus's gut told him that it was only one out of many.

The first one who spoke decided to quickly summarize the speech before they got into a topic none of them were prepared to discuss. "Well said," the king of Sindria spoke up. As soon as the flame in Alibaba's eyes had died down he looked just as shocked as the others. His hands were trembling at a bravery that he felt had come out of nowhere. Sinbad decided to help him save face. "Titus, what is it you have to tell us?" Slowly, attention was returned back to the prince, all eager not to discuss what they silently agreed should never been spoken aloud.

And it was up to Titus not to approach that topic. "When….When I went to the people, I found a group of them. They were training each other and learning how to fight. The leader said they are preparing for battle, but there are no battled coming up, and I saw no guards there watching them. I thought…" He didn't know what he had thought. He had been shocked when he saw them preparing for battle. He'd missed some meetings here and there but he would have known if they had started training the citizens.

"They are raising arms?" King Armakan asked. "Are you sure?"

Titus nodded. "Positive. I saw them training in a dojo and bringing in weapons."

"We haven't started training any civilians," Nerva argued. "They shouldn't know that we have been planning for war at all yet."

"Cassim knew." At the side of Balbaad, one of the younger princes shot up at the name. Titus didn't notice as he continued. "Cassim is one of their leaders. He's training people and gathering a big group. They've got enough for a small army right now."

"This CASSIM shouldn't know though," Cerendine argued. "The only ones who know that we are preparing for war are in the palace."

"So what are you suggesting then?" Sharkkon questioned her. "That someone in the palace told the citizens?" Titus expected an argument from someone at the table. But to his surprise and confusion, no one spoke up. Instead he caught them sending each other suspicious glances. Ones that he was used to, but not all so openly. Why were none of them as surprised as he was?

That was when Titus realized why none of them looked surprised.

They already knew.

Members of the twelve had already suspected there was a spy in their midsts.

Why hadn't he seen it? The citizens learning about the war when none of them had been told. The finalist being able to break into the castle even when their defences were absolutely impenetrable. The breaking of the previous mask of queen Rinmaru. The attack at the ball? Who knew what else? What other explanation could there have been?

Titus had had no idea.

He really didn't know have of what was going on in the twelve, did he?

"I'm afraid..." Kouen spoke into the silence. "It would not be a new idea that we have a traitor in our midsts." The others said nothing, distrust seeping through their masks that were supposed to hold them together.

"I'd bet it's that silly peasant girl!" King of Balbaad spat. "She's the only new one in the palace recently. I knew bringing some filth into our courts was a bad idea!"

Sinbad's hands slammed on the table in outrage. "Hakuei has nothing to do with this! Accuse her of being a spy again and I swear Abhmad I will make sure you see your last day sooner than you wish!"

"He's got a point though king Sinbad," Prince Spartos mentioned tentatively, trying not to provoke his anger. "She is the only new member that has been added recently. And your decision to wed her was rather rash. We hardly know her at all."

"Perhaps YOU don't, but I do!" Sinbad insisted. Others disagreed that Sinbad could truly know what was going on, but new better than to speak. "She doesn't have the power or the means to do something like this," Sinbad reasoned. "Any letters she sends out are read by my servants and by myself for security reasons. Besides, she wasn't here when the finalist attacked or the attack on queen Rurmaru. There is no way she could have anything to do with this." He could see in their eyes most of them were not convinced. But they decided to say nothing.

"What about the brides?" Alibaba came to Sinbad's aid. "Any of them could be a spy."

"They all went through background checks and had guards with them wherever they went," Yamu reasoned. "And besides, Sinbad's arguments for his bride are the same. They weren't there for enough and they don't know enough."

"It would have to be someone who has been in the palace for a while," her father concluded with a dark undertone. "One of the Goi brats I assume."

"Well I know it's no one from my country!" Kina argued in his defence. "My security is fine!"

"It's no one from my country!" king Abhamad repeated.

"Nor mine!"

"Not mine!"

"EVERYONE!" all voices stopped at Kouen's thunderous shout. His eyes flashed a dark glare over every member who attempted to speak up again. "I believe, with this recent development, this is something we can no longer avoid. However it will take much longer to solve than we have here in this meeting. I suggest a thorough examination of all members of each country be put out. Including soldiers, servants, and family members. Each country can be in charge of checking members of their own country." The rest of the twelve agreed in silence. Most were to worn out by the day's events to argue. "And I expect," Kouen added for good measure, "that everyone will put all their efforts into the search. Whether they believe someone is innocent or not." He glared at Sinbad for a quick moment. The king feigned innocence, but there was a scowl under his lips.

"For now," Kouen replied, turning back to a bashful Titus. He shivered when his hard gaze landed on him. "You said you visit the people without your mask?"

Titus shivered under the shocked and disgusted looks others gave him. "…I did."

"Continue then."

Nerva looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel. "What?"

"They have their spies," Kouen replied. "We will have ours. Prince Titus, return to the village frequently in disguise and report back to us anything you find. And be sure not to be caught." Titus nodded in earnest. The guilt that sparked through him when he thought of Marga would have to wait. He wasn't going to use her. She would still be his friend, he was spying on the others. The only relief he felt was seeing Nerva's defeated expression when he realized his trump card was no useless.

"Are there any objections? No? Then meeting adjured."

…

* * *

As soon as the meeting had been cut short, Alibaba had rushed from the room. He didn't have the energy that day to face his brother's wrath for what he had said. Especially after what he had heard.

But he couldn't help it. They spoke of the people as if the prince had gone to visit trash. As if the citizens and people that were like those he had used to live with were bugs and insects that were something to be disgusted at instead of listened to. He didn't care that some of them were putting up a façade to appease other members. It didn't matter that he knew he was supposed to have done the same thing as a member of the court. He had lived in those 'dirty' villages. He had been one of them. He WAS one of the people.

He just couldn't stand it. He'd burst.

And what a fool he was for doing it.

"What was I thinking?" Alibaba groaned, covering his face in anguish. "They all must think me a fool. No one talks about that unless they want to be exiled!" He could already imagine his brothers throwing him off the palace steps to a pack of hungry dogs ready to feast on his flesh. Or maybe, to make sure he didn't talk, they'd make him a slave and tell others that he was a madman that was good for nothing but heavy lifting and serving others. He wasn't even sure where slave trading was legal anymore, but he knew they would find a way.

If he did get out, that meant he'd see Cassim again.

Cassim.

He was there. In the city.

Did he know Alibaba was there to?

What would he even say to him?

Before Alibaba could come up with an answer to that question, a clapping in his ears made him jump. Spinning around expecting to see one of his brothers or perhaps another member of the court, he found a small blue child there instead. "YOU?"

"You did it Alibaba!" Aladdin laughed, clapping with absolute glee! "You spoke up against tradition! I told you that you were brave! This just proves that you will be a great leader! You can say things they can't!" Alibaba was flabbergasted. He wasn't sure what he should even question first.

After no thought at all he decided on, "You heard all of that? How?" The young boy grinned maliciously.

"Magic."

"The council rooms are protected with magic!" Alibaba fought back. Aladdin just shrugged carelessly.

"It's not important. But you heard what happened in there. Big things are happening Alibaba, just like I told you. Citizens who haven't questioned the twelve in centuries are bearing arms to fight in a war they should know nothing about. Members of an unknown continent are coming here after years of silence. The council slowly breaking away traditions that have been keeping them together for years. And you! Speaking against them, in the middle of the court with all of them to see!" Alibaba did NOT need the reminder. "Big things are happening Alibaba. And you are going to be a part of it."

"What are you talking about," Alibaba said feigning innocence. In truth he understood exactly what Aladdin was saying. But he wasn't ready to face it. He couldn't talk about something so lightly. "I don't even know you? How do you know about all this? How do I know you aren't the spy?" Alibaba fought back. "You seem to pop out of nowhere all the time. And you know more about what is going on than I do!"

Aladdin rolled his eyes at Alibaba's panic. "If I was a spy, why on earth would I tell you all I know?" He had a point there. That would be pretty bad spy material. Even if he hadn't actually told him everything… "Alibaba, trust me. I am on your side. I am your friend, and nothing will change that! You just did one thing wrong," Aladdin pouted.

Alibaba scoffed sarcastically. "Oh? And what's that?" Really, the nerve of this kid!

And what he proposed was absolutely ridiculous. "You needed to be the spy."

"Are you insane?" Alibaba shouted, not caring if someone heard. Him, be the spy? Why would he want to do that? Why would he want to face the people he had abandoned? Did this child not know his relationship with Cassim? Did he not know what would happen if he saw him? He'd know! What a terrible spy that would make him!

"I need you to go to the village!" Aladdin tried to reason. "I need you to talk to the people! There's one in particular who is going to be important. He's a big key to all that will happen in the future, and you need him on your side." The kid was talking gibberish again. What kind of person who wasn't a member of the twelve possibly be so important to the scheme that was going on in the twelve? And how did he know for certain that one person would be a key?

"Alibaba, you are the only one I trust," Aladdin said. "You know about the scrolls of Solomon. That's what's happening. That's why I want you to meet this boy. You know Cassim so use him to get to the crowd. Talk sense into Hakuryuu!"

"Hakuryuu?" Alibaba spluttered. "Who the heck is Hakuryuu?"


	16. Your Nightmares

Your Nightmares

"What took you so-mmf!"

"Shh," Ali whispered, casting glances around. "We can't be caught here."

While struggling to keep Ali's hand off her mouth, Hakuei rolled her eyes. After so many secret visits, who did he think was going to appear?

Regardless, Hakuei allowed him to lead her through the garden to the edge of the hill. For a few weeks he'd been able to sneak around the palace guards and get through their defences in order to visit her. She had no idea how he managed that, but he always said it was trade secret. While she was curious deep down, she knew it was a bad idea for him to show her. If she found an escape…a way out…She wasn't sure she could resist.

Lately his visits had become the highlight of each day. Well…There wasn't that much competition. Other than his visits the only things she could look forward to were visits from Toto, the rare visit from Prince Alibaba and the time she was given alone in the garden. The rest of her time was taken up from various lessons such as the etiquette and manner lessons that she was given from a new teacher with a mask each day. 'A peasant women needs to learn how to act properly in the council's ranks! You need to learn history, obedience, politics, but most importantly how to behave as a wife of the king of one of the most powerful countries in the known world! Now sit up straight!' She wondered if it had been that teachers own biased opinion on the country or the truth. At least Toto had convinced them to let her learn to fight for self defense. She loathed archery but she was starting to get the hang of swordplay.

She wished she could have said that was the worst part of her days. No, unfortunately a few weeks back someone had decided she should finally get a say in the wedding preparations. Sometimes when she was not in the mood she would hide from the servant who came to fetch her by saying she had something else to do or actually hiding. But most often she allowed them to take her away, often never in the same room. The man named Jafar tried to be kind to her, but she could tell his first priority was getting business done. He or another servant would ask her opinion on the decorations, the seats for the dinner, if she would like to have a bachelorette party or not. Hakuei didn't even know enough women with masks to be able to do that. One smaller women, she thought her name was Pisti, often would sneak in to try and fix what she called, 'the most boring party she could have imagined.' Sometimes when she made suggestions Hakuei went along with it simply because she either didn't know what it was or didn't care. The council certainly had a lot of marriage traditions!

At least every other day before dinner Ali would sneak into the garden area to come say hello. He had yet to tell her how he got in and while that did make her suspicious, she decided she didn't want to risk looking into it. She was just happy he could come. The only other time she could have a normal conversation or actually talk to someone without a mask was when she looked in the mirror. Ali had become her only piece of home she had left. Ironic, considering he technically wasn't from her home.

Sometimes however he could be…a tad dramatic.

"Ali, don't worry. There is no one here, I already checked!" But Ali continued analysing the landscape, not satisfied unless he was sure there wasn't anyone wearing a mask in sight. It wasn't that he was too cautious, it was that he…seemed to enjoy it. When someone was close he would smile, then start teasing her saying that they'd better not get caught. Or he'd suggest they go to the palace, then they could try and sneak around there for the thrill. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was overreacting on purpose. As if it was funny to him the thought of getting caught. Hakuei always shook her head when she thought that, hoping he wasn't that reckless.

When Ali was finally satisfied that they weren't going to be interrupted, he slid down against the tree she was underneath so his back rested on the trunk. He crossed his arms behind his head as he winked at her. "Just had to be sure. Don't want to get caught by the guards, right?" Hakuei shook her head while Ali snickered. At least SHE didn't want to get caught…

"So what did I miss?" He leaned forward, pushing out the rest of the world so he could focus on her. "Did the short women…Ah…what was her name again?"

"Princess Pisti," Hakuei answered for what felt like the millionth time. He really had a hard time with names!

"That's right, Pisti!" he snapped his fingers rather dramatically in Hakuei's opinion. "Did she finally convince you to let her pick your wedding dress?" Hakuei scoffed. Perhaps it had been a bad idea telling him that. She preferred the days when they didn't have anything to talk about so they just lay next to each other and watched the clouds in silence. That way she couldn't say anything that would come back to haunt her.

"No, but she's still trying. After seeing the kinds of clothes she wears, I don't think I'd want to wear something like that." She paused, expecting a response. Ali however, had a dreamy look in his eyes as he looked her up and down.

"If she does convince you, I can't wait to see it." She rolled her eyes again.

After a moment of silence reminded him, "as far as you know, her countries fashion is wearing a large suit of all red. I wouldn't be get your hopes up when you don't actually know what she wears." Instead of laughing like she expected him to, his eyes widened as if he had just been caught.

"Uh...Yeah, of course! I-I was just guessing, judging from how you talk about it is all. Since I don't know her I guess I could be wrong…" Hakuei raised her eyebrow when he started ribbing the back of his head sheepishly. Anyone else and she would have questioned it. But she didn't want to argue over small things when their time was so limited. "So…How's the king? Are things going…well?" He put on a smile, trying to change the subject quickly.

It worked a little too well. Hakuei's eyes fell to her hands in her lap. "I…don't see him often," Hakuei admitted. Which was the truth. The first night she'd had to share a room she'd tried to do all she could to avoid going to bed that night. When she'd finally given up and gotten there, the king was nowhere to be found. To be honest she had been relieved. Even when she woke the next morning, the king was not there. Her initial explanation was that he must have not returned to his room at all.

That was, until she noticed he had left some of his papers behind.

For days that was how things seemed to go with them. The king would work on some…business that she knew nothing of. Being a king must have taken more time than she thought. He came to bed late, and left early in the morning. Most of the time she was asleep, but anytime he came in or woke up when she was still there she pretended to be asleep. If he knew she was faking he didn't say anything. Only one time had he been there when she'd come in, and luckily he'd been asleep. During the day he left her alone. Hakuei tried to avoid running into him outside of business but there were a few times that he insisted they eat a meal together or spend time just the two of them. Rare moments, to her relief. They didn't speak often, but every time he seemed so…assured. Like there was no problem between them. Had whatever…business he had made him forget the elephant in the room? Or did he just not care?

She didn't make a habit of trying to find out what his business was. Instead she spent her time speaking to the few who would talk to her. She'd gotten a few nasty looks from some because she didn't wear a mask, but there were some who were willing to talk to her. Alibaba would eat meals with her when he could spare a moment, though he never brought the young boy who had been with him before. Toto had convinced some guards to let Hakuei come visit her at the training areas once a day. She'd taught Hakuei how to handle a sword, as well as told her what had happened to the women that had been taken from the town. "Sent most of them home," Toto had said while Hakuei tried to parry a blow. "Spent a week deciding who had seen too much and who could be released. The ones who had learned more couldn't leave. Not sure what happened to them. Toto only got out because I am a solider in training." Hakuei didn't want to know what happened to the girls still stuck in the palace. What was the price for knowing too much?

Along with them, at least twice a day a stranger in a mask would come and pay her a visit. Sometimes they were kind, talk to her, come back and say hi a few times. Others were just rude, ask her many questions, and then scoff as they left. Few gave their names. But they all came with the same excuse. 'I just wanted to see what the famous civilian bride was like. So what did you do to get the king to pick you anyway?' She could never give them an answer.

Hakuei shook her head derisively. "Can we…not talk about him right now?" Ali looked genuinely confused, almost offended by her reaction. It lasted less than a second when Ali rushed to put a smile on his face.

"Yeah but…he's starting to warm up to you right? Not such a scary guy anymore?" When Hakuei didn't answer he rushed in, "y-you said you were spending more time with him. So he can't be that bad!"

"Sure, we eat a meal together once in a while," Hakuei told him with downcast eyes. "But we hardly talk at all. I still don't know anything about him, or what he can do!" she paused for a moment, surprised at her own anger at the truth of her relationship between her future husband. Ali on the other hand caught a dark look in his eyes and purposefully made sure not to keep eye contact. "And the worst part." Hakuei added after thinking it over, "he seems to know a lot about me. I don't know how! He manages to bring my favourite foods to meals and got me a horse to ride in the morning. How could he have known I like horses? I'd never even ridden one before I got here!" Hakuei's skin crawled when she wondered what else he could have known about her.

Ali on the other hand tried to stop his nervous sweating. "H-He probably asked around about you. Everyone back in your hometown knows you love horses!" Once again he hurried to change the subject before she could dwell on it. "But that means he cares about you if he's going out of his way to find out more about you. And what about t-those books he gave you? And getting your favourite foods for meals?" Hakuei had a puzzled look when he mentioned the books. Before she could ask he blurted, "You mentioned it a while ago."

She wasn't sure if she had the books that long ago, but she let it go. "Bribing me with food and books doesn't change the fact that he hardly talks to me," Hakuei muttered under her breath. "I think he's just trying to placate me because the council wants the wedding to happen. It's not in concern for me, but to make sure I don't cause problems."

"I bet you're wrong. He'd have to be an idiot to not at least care about a women as beautiful and kind as you. And I am sure he's not an idiot," He added with a quick nod. "Very sure."

A small smile traced her lips. "I wish I had your optimism Ali. But I have no reason to believe that now. I have no reason to even trust him…" Hakuei trailed off, a hazy look covering her eyes. Ali watched her as her thoughts clouded her mind, cutting off the real world as she was brought into her musings of the world.

Hakuei didn't notice he had moved until he was leaning next to her. "Right. Well…don't worry so much," Ali wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'd bet that will change soon." While her smile was weak, she took comfort as she leaned into him. She wasn't sure when it happened. When exactly had Ali become her confidant? When had the stranger that she'd only known for a few months become the first person she thought of when she needed comfort? Part of her new that it was mainly because there really was no one else to talk to but at the same time…She didn't mind that. She was glad, of the people she could have been stuck with, it ended up being him. He listened to her when she talked. He gave good, or at least a good attempt, at advice or encouragement. They got into fights that they knew wouldn't last very long. Somehow she was starting to feel closer to him than she had to another person in a long time.

But was that okay?

It was odd, she knew, trusting someone she'd known for such a little amount of time. But considering her situation, she deemed that a problem to deal with another time. No, what worried her was her situation she was in. More than that, what her situation may have done to her closest friend at the time. "Ali, I'm very happy you're able to come and see me,"

"Oh, miss me that much?" He grinned down at her with a twinkle in his eye.

Hakuei rolled her eyes, but there was a smile added to it. "But, you have been visiting me for quite a while now. I am worried you'll get in trouble." Ali just scoffed.

"Trouble? Trouble's my middle name!" Ali laughed, trying to push his happy mood onto her. Unfortunately Hakuei's smile was nervous and edgy. In an effort to comfort he pulled away to give her space, but kept their feet entangled. "Trust me, I've gotten myself out of a lot of bad situations. Compared to what I've done before, I don't see myself getting punished for coming over to see a friend." Well, that depended on whether Jafar wanted to focus on the fact that he was getting to know his fiancée or that he was sneaking around without a mask. Perhaps, if he got caught, he could say he misplaced it.

It took him a moment to notice Hakuei staring at him with a look of shock. "What? What's wrong?"

"Ali, are you joking?" when the man's only response was to shrug Hakuei decided she'd given the man too much credit. "Ali, I'm currently engaged to one of the most powerful men in the world! Not only do I hardly know anything about him or what his powers are, but I have no idea how he would react to me coming to visit someone else who does not wear a mask! What…what if he gets angry?" Hakuei shivered, her min returning to the night of the dance. The creature that had attacked while the king had shown only slight surprise. The complete indifference that members of the twelve had shown when the creature had been easily cut to pieces, as if that was only a minor threat that had been dealt with in the simplest of ways. How their main concern had been that their security had been breached. Ali had been breaching their security for weeks. Her stomach churned at the idea that his punishment would be similar to the creatures. Ali relaxed when he understood what Hakuei was implying.

Ah. So she was worried about him.

Wait.

"Aw, are you worried about me?" Ali's mouth formed into a smug smile when Hakuei frowned. Leaning back he started teasing her, trying to hide exactly how smug he was that she was worried about his wellbeing. "Gee, I didn't realize I was that important to you Hakuei. You pretend to be impartial to my flirtations but maybe I'm really getting closer to your heart than I thought." He continued to chuckle while Hakuei's eyes narrowed at him. At least she was in her right mind enough to at least pretend that the blush on her cheeks was just out of embarrassment.

"I'm being serious!" Hakuei chastised him earnestly. "What if they decide to imprison you? What if they-"

"Hey, it's okay!" Ali decided to ease up on the teasing when he spotted her genuine fear. His tone shifted from boasting to comforting. "Really, there's nothing to worry about. No one is going to catch us, honest!" Hakuei did not look encouraged, her eyes trained on her hands in her lap. Ali rubbed his chin thoughtfully, thinking carefully. "Even if they do catch me, what's the worst that could happen? They kill me? People have survived worse."

"No they haven't."

"Well, okay, no, that's true. But I'm not afraid of dying. Sounds like to die would be an awfully big adventure." Perhaps he really had to work on his supporting technique. Hakuei didn't meet his gaze her thoughts swarming towards the worst options. _There are worse things than death,_ was her immediate reaction. "Don't even worry about it. I'm sure I can handle whatever they throw at me."

"How can you be sure?" Hakuei asked, just a sliver of hope.

"Oh, I'm very sure," Ali replied with a smirk. "Anyway, you've got more important things to worry about." Hakuei wasn't sure what problem she had that he thought was more important than a life or death situation, but she went with it. "Are you at least making some friends? Other people you can trust when I'm not around?" If he had to be honest, he wasn't sure if he wanted the answer to be yes or no. On one hand if she was making friends that meant she was starting to get more comfortable with her new life as an acquaintance of the council. On the other hand…he wasn't sure why he was bothered by the idea of her seeing other people. Perhaps he was being paranoid, worried someone would take advantage of her naivety to palace ways. Of course he knew she could take care of herself. But…

Hakuei didn't notice his inner turmoil as she allowed her worries to pass over to be dealt with another time. "Well, Toto comes once in a while. Princess Pisti and Prince Spartos say hello when I see them. And…oh, there is that other prince!"

Ali tried to pretend his senses didn't go into overdrive when she mentioned a prince. "Who is he?" Hakuei looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't expected for her answer to be met with a tone of hostility. "I-I mean, is he a good guy?" he changed his response, trying to put on a mask of indifference. His companion pursed her lips, trying to decipher his original reaction. Could he have actually been worried about her seeing another guy? That wouldn't have made sense. If he was worried about that, his first priority should have been the king she was engaged to, not a friend.

"He's a nice prince, from Balbaad I think. Actually, his name is Alibaba, like you!" Hakuei smiled easily as if she had cleared the air with the simple fact. On the contrary, Ali tensed up once again.

"Did you now? How…how interesting." When Hakuei frowned Ali hurried to add, "Not that I'm surprised of course. Alibaba is actually a really common name outside of Kina." His reaction was odd and made Hakuei skeptical. On the other hand, she had no way to tell if his information was the truth or not. Any info she had about outside of Kina's capital was from travellers or, the majority of her info, from Ali himself.

Before Hakuei got the chance to argue, Ali startled her by jumping to his feet. "I've been here a while. You should probably get back before someone notices you are gone." A while? They had only been talking for an hour at the most.

But the thought of getting caught overshadowed her questions. "I suppose," she muttered while she got to her feet. "Be careful not to be spotted as you leave, okay?" Ali's mouth twitched when he caught the hint of concern in her tone. Who knew it felt so good to have someone worry about him?

"Don't worry, no one's going to bother me. Now I should,"

"Ali!"

He turned back, startled. "Yes?"

Flustered, Hakuei began searching for an item of great importance. Out of a small bag she kept tied around her waist she pulled what looked like a small letter. "Could you bring this to my brother?" She asked earnestly, a pleading light in her eyes. "He hasn't responded to my letters since I got here. I'm worried the council aren't sending them to him and instead getting rid of my messages for security reasons."

Ali allowed himself a momentary slip up with his confusion. "He hasn't responded to you?" The letters should have gotten through. Of course when she became an official member and wore her mask properly she would not be allowed to send letters to her brother anymore. But since she still counted as a civilian her letters were not burned. They checked them all to make sure she weren't divulging secrets, but any innocent messages about how she was doing and to say hello should have gotten through.

"No. And I'm starting to get worried," Hakuei told him, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Marga has been sending me a few letters but doesn't tell me anything about my brother since she's too curious about the 12. Mother was not very fond of my brother and me. He stayed because he had nowhere else to go, but I'm worried if there is no one to keep him there he may try and find somewhere else anyway. I-I'm sure he can take care of himself but…If he runs into trouble I…" Hakuei stopped herself when she realized that she was shaking. The thought of her brother was enough to send her on edge. "A-anyway, I'm sure he's fine," Hakuei insisted, putting on a brave face. "You must have seen him while I've been gone. How has he been?"

To be honest, 'Ali' hadn't gone to visit the orphanage in weeks. Ever since he'd been struggling to visit Hakuei in secret as well as manage his own duties as king the people on the outside had been pushed to the back of his mind. The last time he saw Hakuryuu must have been… not to long after Hakuei had been brought into the palace with the other women. "I…Last I checked, he was doing fine." Before Hakuei could get into more detail he snatched the letter from her hands. "I'll be sure to get this to him as soon as possible." _Great. Now I've got to find a time to sneak out and go back to the village to,_ he grumbled in his head. _So much for having any kind of personal life!_

His thoughts were silenced when Hakuei wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug.

"Oh thank you so much!" Hakuei breathed out a sigh of relief. "I really owe you for this Ali. Please tell him I'm thinking about him?" Ali didn't respond, frozen in surprise. Slowly, his arms wrapped around her as he completed the hug.

"Yeah, of course. Anything for you Hakuei." He was startled by how true the words felt on his tongue. Maybe after so many lies his body was not accustomed to the truth. The thought would have sent shivers up his spine if his mind wasn't preoccupied with trying to memorize the good feelings of the hug. Holding her in his arms, her head resting on the crook of his neck, the smell of her hair…

All too quickly, Hakuei pulsed away. Ali would have been saddened by the idea she wasn't as affected by the hug as he had been if he hadn't caught the blush on her cheeks before she turned away. "A-anyway, I'll meet you back here in two days? Alright, I'll see you later." Ali didn't even get the chance to confirm before she hurried away, being careful not to look back as she did. As she left Ali felt a growing smile on his face. He watched her go, deciding that things were absolutely perfect. Hakuei was starting to like him, his identity was still a secret and no one in the council knew what he was doing. Coming to visit her as Ali had been a great plan.

* * *

Normally Hakuei struggled to ignore the stares of the servants and soldiers who wondered where her mask was, but that day she had no issue. Her attention was all for her worries that day.

Ali may have been pretty relaxed about the whole thing, but Hakuei couldn't let it go. How selfish could she be, insisting he come and visit her when his life could be at stake? She doubted that the twelve would care if she tried to argue on his behalf. She didn't even know what their biggest issue would be; him coming to visit her or the fact that he had managed to sneak past their security. If he had a secret for getting in she would bet the council would do whatever it took to silence it. Her blood ran cold as she pictured her soon to be husband sitting on a throne with Ali chained below him. Would he be merciful? Was the king capable of mercy? Would the king even care?

She wished she could say the king hadn't been the source of her nightmares as of late. But ever since he'd insisted they started sharing room, her imagination had run rampant. Dreams of the king killing her loved ones had come to her a few times. Sometimes it was her being thrown in prison while she was forced to stay as he gloated over her. The most common one was him taking off the mask to reveal a monster, then killing her in an instant. Sometimes when she saw him in the day she would panic, thinking she was back in bed and the nightmare was not over.

She must have been overreacting. There was no way a king could possibly be so cruel. But what worried her was that there was nothing to say he wasn't that cruel. She didn't know anything about him! She didn't know what he could do, what he was capable of! What if….what if he really did decide to hurt someone she cared about? Would he even care how much it hurt her? Would he care how much it hurt them? Did he even have a soul to care with?

The worst part? Even when she was so worried about Ali, she knew she wouldn't ask him to stay away. It was selfish and cruel, but the thought of never getting to see him again was worse than her nightmares.

What kind of a person was she to put her comfort over Ali's life?

"Hakuei!"

Her heart skipped a beat. And not in the good way. Her eyes widened as she spun around to see King Sinbad strolling over to meet her. Jafar was at his side, along with a man who had the mask of a dragon. Or…was it a mask? Her breathing began to race as she struggled to maintain what little composure she had. _What does he want? What have I done? Oh please don't be another nightmare._ "K-king Sinbad!" Hakuei folded her hands and bowed respectfully like Jafar had taught her. At his side Jafar's chest swelled with pride. "W-what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to come say hello," Sinbad replied, as he reached her. Hakuei was extremely aware of how big he was as he towered over her. "Are you doing anything later?"

Hakuei's muscles tensed at the idea. She knew she was going to be very tired after her lessons that day, and she doubted she could maintain a calm, collected composure with him without having prepared earlier. "I…I have my classes to take care of…"

"Cancel them," King Sinbad insisted, crushing her hopes. "I'm going to take you horseback riding out near the shore. I think you'll like the view of the ocean." Hakuei opened her mouth to object, but couldn't think of an argument strong enough to deter him. His golden eyes sparkled with excitement from behind the mask. Hakuei was unable to meet his gaze, her own blue eyes focused on the mask. Why not anyway? It wasn't like he could tell. The mask was the source of her nightmares anyway, why not it sent chills up her spine when she was awake as well?

She'd never actually gone horseback riding with him. If she was honest she doubted he would even though he was asking. He seemed to have a strong aversion to horses, which only strengthened her love for them. It had become one of her safe havens in the palace, one of the few places she was safe from running into him. Must that be taken from her as well?

"I-I…Of course King Sinbad."

Sinbad grinned, oblivious to her thoughts. His only reply was a quick nod before Jafar pulled him away so they could continue the way they were going. He ignored Jafar's glare and his chastising him for not only calling her by an informal name, but also encouraging her to skip out on her studies. Who cared if he called her by her name instead of 'lady Hakuei?' She was his fiancée. And she would have years to learn all those boring, rather pointless lessons in his opinion. Ever since the talk with Hakuei earlier Sinbad felt like he was on a cloud. He was feeling light as air, and nothing could bring him down from his happy mood.

Except a harsh wind could blow away any happy mood.

"Kind Sinbad!" Both he and Jafar turned when prince Sharkkon ran over to them. The guards at his side started forward to defend but Jafar motioned for them to halt. Sharkkon screeched to a stop in front of them, panting for breath like a dog. "I need to talk to you!"

If they had been able to see Sinbad's face they would have spotted the shock written all over it. Ever since they had finally started taking action by sending Titus to spy in the village, Sinbad had been waiting for a bomb to drop that would call them to arms. Had it happened already? "Calm down Sharkkon! What happened, was there an attack?"

Sharkkon looked puzzled. "What? No, of course not."

Oh. Then that was much less interesting.

"It's about Lady Hakuei. I saw her earlier and-"

And there that panic was again.

Before Sharkkon could utter another word Sinbad grabbed him by the shoulders, startling the prince so much he shut up. "Ah…" Sinbad cast a glance back to their audience. While the guards showed some surprise they wisely covered it up by standing at attention. Jafar on the other hand had crossed his arms in front of his chest. He could always sense when Sinbad was up to no good. "Anything you have to talk about my fiancée should be spoken to me in private, understood?" He tilted his head towards the guards, hoping Sharkkon would get the message.

Luckily the younger prince's eyes lit up. "Oh, right! Sure, of course!" Sinbad nodded, trying not to let the relief show on his face. He had the mask, but it didn't cover everything.

Taking Sharkkon by one arm he turned back to Jafar. "I'm going to go see what this is about. Go on ahead of me and get started on those files." He hoped Jafar would simply comply without argument, but the younger man frowned in distain.

"Is this something I should know about?"

"No!" Sinbad assured him too quickly. "I can deal with it, you've got work to do. Come on prince Sharkkon." Sinbad quickly pulled Sharkkon away, blatantly ignoring Jafar glaring a hole into his head from behind.

In a rush Sinbad found the nearest unoccupied room and pushed Sharkkon in. Once they were inside he slammed the door shut behind him. Holding his breath he waited, listening for the sound of footsteps following them. When he was assured that no one was coming he let out a sigh of relief. Sharkkon on the other hand stared at him like he had just seen him eat an entire bowl full of worms. "Um…Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, no worries!" Straightening his posture he tried to resume his role as king. "But please, in the future try not to discuss anything personal about my fiancée in front of others. We don't know who the spy is, remember?" Sharkkon shivered at the reminder.

"Yeah, okay. But this is really important, maybe Jafar should be here,"

"What is it?" Sinbad interrupted in a rush. "I can decide whether others need to know." Sharkkon raised a skeptical eyebrow at Sinbad. It wasn't like him to hide something from his most trusted advisor. Had the whole wedding nonsense and the idea of a spy with the villagers gathering arms started to go to his head?

"Sure…So," Sharkkon began, an earnest look in his eye. "You wouldn't guess what happened earlier today."

"No, I can't," Sinbad replied offhand, eyes flickering with guilt. Anything Hakuei had done that cause him to worry this much couldn't have been good. And would likely get him in trouble as well.

"Actually, I had been looking for Yamu-" he paused. "Princess Yamu." Sinbad's attention returned to his friend for an instant when he heard his voice drop. His sympathy went out to him, despite his aversion to the situation. Despite Sharkkon's insistence that there was nothing to hide, Sinbad could tell that he was having more issues with his government's arrangements than he let on.

Quickly he tried to push those thoughts away and get back to the matter at hand. "S-So I went looking for her in the garden!"

Snap.

In an instant Sinbad's heartrate skyrocketed. _No. absolutely not. I made sure no one was there. There's no way. I'm jumping to conclusions, just let him talk._ "O-Oh yeah? Which one? The one inside the palace?" Sinbad tried to keep his hands still, but his palms began to sweat nervously. _Why would he have gone to the outer palace? No one goes there anyway, not everyone even knows it exists! D-Did I show Sharkkon my real face? Yeah, but I haven't in a while! Maybe he forgot, or I've aged too much…_ The thought that he'd aged frightened him more than the thought of being discovered.

"I did at first, but when she wasn't there I decided to check the one outside of the palace. It's on the edge of the palace grounds…" Sharkkon hesitated, like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Sinbad could hear his words already. _What were you doing out there? You weren't wearing your mask! What is going on?_ Those were all very good questions. One's Sinbad did not want to answer.

"Hakuei's allowed to visit the gardens outside. If that's your problem, it is not an issue." _Please let that be all, please let that be all._

"No, that's not it!" Sharkkon insisted. "I…I really don't know how to say this but…"

 _THEN PLEASE DON'T! JUST SHUT UP!_ "Continue."

"I saw her out there in the gardens. At first I didn't want to bother her but then I noticed she wasn't alone. Making sure they didn't see me I decided to get closer and…"

Oh no. That was it. He'd seen him. Sinbad would have to come up with an explanation that actually made sense to Sharkkon and didn't make him out to be either a coward or someone who didn't care about the rules of the twelve. Then he'd have to find a way to convince him not to tell anyone. And worse, convince him not to tell HAKUEI. If she found out that he was really Ali, he had no idea what she would do! Would she hate him forever? No, he couldn't let that happen. There had to be something Sharkkon would want in exchange for his silence…

"…And I saw Hakuei wrapped in the arms of some guy!"

…..

What?

"Sinbad! She's seeing another guy! We've got to do something!" It took all of skills of acting and composure not to sigh with relief.

"O-oh, of course! Wow, I really had no idea! What a surprise! Don't worry about it, I-I'll deal with it myself." Sinbad worried he'd overdone it and had gotten caught, but luckily Sharkkon looked extremely sympathetic instead of suspicious. It looked like he hadn't even heard what he had said.

"I couldn't believe it either! I mean, she seemed really nice and honest…but I guess you really never know a person huh?" Sinbad would have laughed if they were in different circumstances. They were members of the twelve and he really thought that you could ever know a person?

"Yeah, big shocker. I never saw it coming, how awful…" Sinbad had to pause to stop himself from rambling. "So…what are the chances you got a good look at this guy?"

Sharkkon shook his head in shame. "My bad. The guys back was to me when she was hugging him, and I left as soon as she pulled away. I never got the chance to see."

 _Oh thank heavens._ "Oh, that's a shame. Well don't worry about it, it was an honest," _and extremely fortunate,_ "Mistake. I'll talk to Hakuei, I'm sure there is a logical explanation for all this." Like HECK he was going to talk to Hakuei about it. Sharkkon and Hakuei never really talked, so he shouldn't have problems with the two of them meeting and talking about it. If Sharkkon ever asked about it again he could just say it was a misunderstanding and that had been her…brother? Maybe cousin. It didn't matter, Sharkkon didn't know about her family.

While Sinbad couldn't be more relieved Sharkkon looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry to break the news King Sinbad. I know you probably didn't actually love her or anything but that's got to be a big blow to your pride…Are you okay?"

Sinbad straightened. "O-of course I'm fine! You know I've dated many women, so why would I be bothered that my fiancée may have to?"

Sharkkon shrugged nervously. "Yeah, but I haven't seen you doing more than flirting since you picked her." Really? He'd caught that? Maybe Sinbad had to be more cautious than he'd thought. "Besides, you told me that you'd be faithful to someone if you were in an actual relationship with them. But for that person to not be…" Slowly Sharkkon trailed off as his eyes narrowed. "You know, you aren't reacting how I thought you would."

Oh no. "What do you mean?"

"Your fiancée may be dating another guy and you seem fine with it!" The fellow prince stared at him in disbelief, almost disappointment like he was expecting Sinbad to have been angry.

"W-well that's because I don't want to jump to conclusions! That could have been just a friend of hers, or perhaps a brother!" Sharkkon paused for a moment to consider this.

Then, to Sinbad's disappointment, shook his head. "But we don't know that! I thought you would be insulted or jealous even, or maybe…You're pretty calm about all this." Sharkkon paused while Sinbad began to panic. _Oh, I'm not calm,_ Sinbad thought mentally. _I am DEFINITELY worried right now._ "You know…" Sharkkon continued, stopping to think about it for a moment. "I never actually got a good look at the guys face."

 _Nononononononononono bad, bad, abort!_ "I-it really doesn't matter who he is, the situation is the same whoever-"

"Actually, I think his hair did look a lot like yours…" Sharkkon tilted his head to the side as if examining him for the first time. "Yeah…his hair was long and purple to." If the magic from the mask had been working he wouldn't have been able to notice that similarity. For the first time Sinbad wished he had never shown Sharkkon his true identity.

"That's a big coincidence." Sharkkon pursed his lips, as if inwardly debating something important.

"You know what? I'll come with you."

Sinbad gulped. "What?"

"You should have support with this. I'll come confront her about this so you don't have to do it alone. In fact, let's go right now!" Sharkkon turned to the door and reached out for the handle. In a flash Sinbad's hand slammed on the door, making Sharkkon jump back in surprise. The two of them paused, the only sound their breathing in the room as one waited for the other to speak. Sinbad wouldn't look at Sharkkon right away, while Sharkkon stared at him earnestly waiting for an explanation.

Finally, Sinbad gave in. "…Sharkkon…"

"Oh my gosh. It was you!" Well at least Sinbad didn't have to explain it himself. Sharkkon was gaping at him in disbelief, which was exactly what Sinbad had been afraid of. "You were the one hugging her! That's why you haven't been worried how she acts towards you, because you and she get along when no one's looking!" Well he wouldn't say he's not worried but… "I can't believe you actually showed her your face," Sharkkon continued, stuck between admirations and judging him. "I mean, wow. You must like her a whole lot more than I thought you did. You actually trusted her enough to show her your face." After a pause the prince grinned. "Man, that's a relief! Now we know she's really someone we can trust! Man, I've got to tell her about this. When she hears I thought she was cheating that might be funny enough for her to loosen up a bit,"

"NO!"

Again Sharkkon jumped. Sinbad panted, panic written all over his face. He was slowly losing control of the situation. "No, you…you can't tell her. Don't mention any of this to her! Especially anything about me!"

Sharkkon blinked, utterly confused by the whole situation. "What are you talking about? It's not like she's got anything to be embarrassed about, since she's really hanging out with…you…" Sharkkon really was smarter than Sinbad gave him credit for. He watched as the wheels in his head clicked into place as he gathered all the pieces. "But…she would be embarrassed if she…didn't know it was you." Sharkkon gaped when he put it all together. "Oh man. You haven't taken off your mask in front of her, have you? She doesn't know it's you!"

Sinbad cringed, inwardly waiting for the lecture.

Sharkkon on the other hand brightened in an instant. "That's absolutely brilliant!"

It was?

With a laugh Sharkkon clapped him on the back. "Heck, that's one great way to rig the game! Now you can hear all she wouldn't say to your face! Anything you want to know about you can find out! Man Sinbad you're a really smart guy." He'd admit, the thought of using the situation to his advantage had crossed his mind. Technically, he had already used it, since he was starting to go with what she said to find ways to make her more comfortable. But that wasn't bad! He was doing it for her benefit anyway! After a few more chuckles Sharkkon pondered the situation. "But, wait. If she doesn't know it's you, but she's still spending time with you alone…technically is she still cheating?"

Sinbad quickly came to his bride's defense. "We haven't done anything that could be considered cheating," Sinbad explained, though his stomach churned slightly at the idea. "When I visit her without the mask she thinks I'm just a friend from her town. She is able to open up to someone without the mask a lot easier, and things are…a lot better this way." Even as he said it he couldn't convince himself that it was true. A lot better? Half the time she wouldn't look at him while the rest of the time she treated him like he was her closest friend.

So really, how was it better?

"Yeah but…she doesn't know it's you. So in her mind, wouldn't she still be considering cheating?" Sinbad shrugged, mind preoccupied with other thoughts.

"I don't know what she thinks about…me without the mask. But she hasn't done anything other than talk or spend time with me that hug you saw was about the closest we've been." After a pause he added. "I'm not sure what she'll do if she starts to think of the other me like that." He seriously doubted she would cheat on him, if nothing but out of obligation. But at the same time it was clear she didn't have much affection for Sinbad with the mask. She may never cheat on him, but that didn't mean her heart wouldn't wander elsewhere…

He wasn't sure why that bothered him. He knew she wouldn't act on it or do anything that would be considered cheating. It wasn't like they went into the relationship expecting them to be loyal to each other. She seemed to assume automatically that he was going to have relations with other women while they were married, despite him telling her he wouldn't do that. But even if she didn't do anything, the thought of her caring for someone else…It really bugged him. He didn't know why, but it really bugged him.

Not that she was the kind of person to give her heart out easily. He was fairly confident that 'Ali' was the only one close at the moment, perhaps ever according to her brother at the orphanage. No, he wasn't worried about that. She was an honest person, that much he was certain of. Besides, he had other things to worry about. "Look, just don't tell anyone okay? Especially not Hakuei. I need to deal with that later….And don't tell Jafar!" Sinbad added after a quick thought. "If Jafar found out I'm visiting Hakuei without my mask, and that she doesn't know it's me, I'm going to be in trouble." But poor Sinbad hadn't noticed Sharkkon had turned pale. "What? What's wrong?" It took him a moment to realize he was actually looking over his shoulder. After a pause, Sinbad sighed in defeat.

Of course.

"You're doing WHAT Sinbad?" Slowly, Sinbad turned to face a very angry looking Jafar coming through the door. "You have been taking off your mask?"

 _Aaand that was the day I died._


End file.
